JQC asks for the Supreme Court to oust Catoosa Judge

Monday, June 20, 2011

photo Magistrate Judge Anthony Peters listens to proceedings at the Georgia Court of Appeals. A panel is expected to make recommendations about his future on the bench in about a week. Vino Wong vwong@ajc.com
Arkansas-Georgia Live Blog

It's been more than 30 days since the state agency that investigates judges asked the Georgia Supreme Court to remove a Catoosa County judge from the bench.

But since Judge Anthony Peters never defended the claims the Judicial Qualifications Commission made against him, officials filed another request today asking for his immediate removal.

Peters, who was appointed as a magistrate in 1997, was charged in February with 13 counts of judicial misconduct by the JQC. The charges, which include pointing a gun at his own head in another judge's office, using marijuana and abusing his authority, stemmed from incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2010.

In a rare two-day trial before a JQC panel in Atlanta, Peters admitted that he did use marijuana for three months and insulted local officials on a television show.

In May, the panel decided that Peters was unfit to return to the bench and should be removed.