Second Georgia Judge Resigns

GRIFFIN, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has obtained the resignation letter of Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English, Jr. He is the second judge in days to resign from the Griffin Judicial Circuit.

The letter, addressed to Governor Sonny Perdue and dated April 23, 2010, stated the resignation would be effective on April 30. It reads, "it is with great remorse that I tender my resignation, but it is time for me and my family to concentrate on a different direction in our lives."

Judge English was the Chief Judge of the circuit and had served Georgia for 35 years.

READ: Judge Resigns

Channel 2's Richard Belcher reported Thursday on allegations that Judge English knew about offensive remarks made by a fellow judge. He told Belcher he could not dispute whether he knew about them or not and said, "I can't confirm it because of judicial ethics that prohibit me from talking about a pending case."

The case involved former Judge Johnnie Caldwell, Jr. He stepped down from the bench Monday and told Channel 2 Action News this week that he had signed a letter vowing to never seek or accept judgeship again.

On Thursday, Caldwell admitted to Channel 2's Mark Winne that he made unprofessional comment to female attorneys. He said the women were lawyers he knew outside of the courtroom and that comments were made at a football game and not while on the bench.

Caldwell told Winne he resigned the same day he was visited by judicial qualification commission investigator Richard Hyde. "As a judge you're supposed to be right and righteous...whether it's with pleasure and whether it's on the bench", he said.

Court filings Channel 2 Action News obtained this week in a divorce case showed that in 2008 and 2009 Judge Caldwell made statements toward Susan Brown which are believed improper and which resulted in biased rulings, and that Brown informed Chief Judge English of the improprieties. It's not clear from the filing when Brown informed Judge English, but sources say it was 18 months ago.

Judge English told Belcher Friday that he has no authority over his fellow judges.

A spokesperson at Governor Sonny Perdue's office says the office will move quickly to fill the vacancies left by Judges Caldwell and English.

WSBTV