Chance Hale, a 2021 Warren County High School graduate and current Tennessee Tech sophomore, knows what he wants to do with his life and he's wasting no time in pursuing his goals. Chance, the son of Travis and Aimee Hale, has set his sights on law school and a career as a lawyer and he's off to a fast start, having recently been elected chief justice of the Tennessee Intercollegiate Supreme Court for the 54th General Assembly.
The Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, or TISL, is a mock general assembly held at the state capitol and works the same way the Tennessee General Assembly does. The program culminates in a four-day event bringing college students from across the state together to experience how the legislature works. In November, Hale served as a representative in the mock legislature and expressed an interest in joining the Tennessee Intercollegiate Supreme Court, or TISC.
TISC, like TISL, provides students a glimpse into the working process of the Tennessee Supreme Court. 'I'm very interested in the law and learning all I can about that, so I submitted my application to the judicial nominating commission and was fortunate enough to be appointed to the court and eventually got elected to be chief justice,' Hale said.
During the fast-paced, four-day weekend, in addition to running a campaign for the chief justice seat, Hale presented a bill which passed the TISL house and senate and was signed into law. The bill's intent is to prevent pelvic examinations on patients without their consent while under anesthesia or unconscious barring extenuating circumstances.
Hale's campaign was a successful one, earning him a one-year term as chief justice. 'I'm the leader of the court for the next year. During the course of this year, we'll be preparing for the next General Assembly. Many people think, what do they do for a whole year since those four days are really when everything happens, but during the year we look at hundreds of cases and legal arguments and precedents until we find a case we think will be interesting to have collegiate students argue before us. For the next six months I, along with the other members of the executive council, will be spending hours looking at all kinds of cases,' Hale said.
'Eventually, when we select a case, college students across Tennessee will build together court teams and come to our court chambers in November to argue before us the case we select,' Hale continued.
Hale is grateful for the experience of participating in TISL and for the responsibility entrusted in him by his peers. 'I am so grateful for my time at our capitol and I want to thank TISL Governor Preston George for signing my bill into law. Additionally, I am incredibly proud of my school, Tennessee Tech. My friends from Tech showed up and showed out. I am deeply pleased to be part of such a fantastic group of individuals. I'd like to thank my fellow judges for electing me chief justice and none of this would have been possible without the loving support of my incredible family. Thank you to my parents for encouraging me to chase my dreams and my grandparents for supporting me.'
At Tennessee Tech, Hale serves as an associate justice on the Student Government Association's Supreme Court and a resident assistant in residential life. He is also an aspiring real estate entrepreneur and investor, working towards his affiliate broker license and growing his company, Hale Evans LLC. Upon graduation from Tech, Hale intends to attend law school, focusing on international affairs or business law.
