An Atlanta Judge is under investigation by an independent state agency which oversees judges. The judicial qualifications commission (JQC) is investigating Municipal Court Judge Terrinee L. Gundy for showing up late to work and canceling morning court cases.
Judge Gundy is one of two judges who hold 8 a.m. court sessions for defendants jailed overnight.
According to WSB-TV investigative reporter Richard Belcher, defendants complain that the judge frequently arrives late to court or cancels morning court.
According to another complaint, Judge Gundy “rushed through” morning court cases to attend a Super Bowl pep rally for the Atlanta Falcons last year.
Former chief public defender Rosalie Joy fought for the due process rights of poor and homeless defendants.
Joy told Belcher her office filed “an extraordinary legal motion” just to get 10 defendants an initial hearing before Judge Gundy last year.
Joy said Judge Gundy and her colleagues often set those hearings for weeks later, which meant defendants remained in jail longer than they should.
“Because the numbers are so staggering, we do have a system in Atlanta that can be likened to assembly line justice,” said Rosalie Joy.
She added that judges should work harder to give all defendants due process.
SEE ALSO: Atlanta Judge Terrinee Gundy Under Investigation for Judicial Misconduct
Judge Gundy was appointed to the bench by former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in 2013.
Joy said the judge used her connections at City Hall to persuade Mayor Reed to remove her from her position as chief public defender last year.
Joy left Atlanta’s Municipal Court and is now working in Washington, D.C.
Judge Gundy’s lawyer fired off a letter to Channel 2 Actions News, denying most of the allegations in Belcher’s exclusive report.
The lawyer said all of the judges attended that pep rally last year, and that Judge Gundy finished all her cases that day before she went to the rally.
The lawyer also says Judge Gundy “had no role in the effort to remove Ms. Joy as the chief public defender.”
Ms. Joy disputes both claims, according to Belcher.
