North Georgia judge who was being investigated for racial slur resigns

ELIJAY, Ga. (AP) A North Georgia judge has resigned in the wake of an investigation into complaints he used a racial slur in open court.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://on-ajc.com/1QfmK8w ) reports that Superior Court Judge Roger Bradley of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit on Wednesday informed Gov. Nathan Deal he would step down on Jan. 31.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission, state's judicial watchdog agency, had been investigating Bradley over a complaint it received that the judge had uttered a slur during a court hearing last March.

A transcript of a March 16 hearing says Bradley referred to a witness by his nickname, which included the racial slur.

Bradley says it was time for him to retire. He did not address, when asked by the newspaper, whether the resignation had anything to do with the investigation.