A North Georgia judge under investigation for his use of a racial slur from the bench is stepping down.
Judge Roger Bradley, who served in the Appalachian Judicial Circuit for 15 years, told Gov. Nathan Deal in a letter Wednesday he would retire at the end of the month. The Appalachian Judicial Circuit covers Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens counties.
“To everything there is a ‘season,'” Bradley wrote in his letter. “With the fulfillment of those fifteen years (which I have greatly enjoyed), it now is the ‘season’ to turn to the next chapter of traveling and visiting places.”
Bradley did not return multiple calls seeking comment on his retirement. He is the second of four superior court judges in his circuit this year to leave his or her post. After an appointment from Deal in October, Judge Amanda Mercier joined the state’s Court of Appeals on Jan. 1.
Bradley drew criticism from some members of the Blue Ridge, Ga., community after he presided over a pretrial hearing involving a black witness last March. Before calling Allen Duray Green to the stand, Assistant District Attorney Morris Martin said he believed Green went by the nickname “(N-word) Ray.”