Judge Accused of Pulling a Gun in Court

N. Georgia judge investigated for brandishing gun in court
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Bill Rankin  -  February 25, 2012

A North Georgia judge is being investigated for pulling out a handgun during a hearing this week as a woman testified about being an assault victim. Lumpkin County Superior Court Judge David E. Barrett pulled out his pistol Wednesday not in anger, but out of frustration and to make "a poor rhetorical point," District Attorney Jeff Langley said Saturday. Langley, who was in the courtroom when it happened, said the Judicial Qualifications Commission has launched an investigation of the judge.  "It was totally inappropriate conduct for a courtroom," Langley said. The district attorney said that he approached the bench after Barrett pulled out his gun and told the judge to put his pistol away. The judge did so and the hearing continued, Langley said. Barrett, chief judge of the Enotah Judicial Circuit, did not immediately respond to emails or to phone calls left at his office Saturday. Under Georgia law, judges are allowed to carry a concealed weapon on the bench, but it is a crime to point a pistol at another person when there is no justification to do so. Jeff Davis, director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, said Saturday he could neither confirm nor deny whether the judicial watchdog agency was investigating Barrett. The bizarre conduct occurred Wednesday during a bond hearing and a request for a temporary protective order against Scott Sugarman, a former Hall County sheriff's deputy who was recently arrested on a number of charges, including rape and aggravated assault with a handgun. Sugarman has pleaded not guilty. The woman who filed the charges against Sugarman was on the witness stand and had testified Sugarman had abused her and, on one occasion, had put a gun to her head. During the latter part of her testimony, the woman was not being cooperative, Langley said. Barrett told the woman she was "killing her case" and pulled out his gun and, feigning to offer it to her, said, "You might as well shoot your lawyer," Langley said. At that point, Langley said, he approached the bench and told the judge to put the gun away. The woman's lawyer, Andrea Conarro of Dahlonega, on Saturday described the scene, as Barrett swept the pistol across the courtroom, "as one of those slow motion kind of events."  "Later, as it sunk in, I was upset, and I felt like a tragedy had been created," she said, adding that by "tragedy" she meant what could happen to Barrett because of what he did.  Both Conarro and Langley said the woman, whose name is being withheld because The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not disclose the names of victims of alleged sexual assault, did not appear to be traumatized.  "My client thought it was a test, that he was trying to see how she would respond, like it was a credibility determination," Conarro said.  Said Langley, "When it happened, I objected and sought to take control of the situation and terminate that conduct immediately."

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Georgia Judge Accused of Pulling a Gun in Court
NBC-DFW by Tierney McAfee - February 28, 2012

A North Georgia judge is being investigated after pulling out a handgun in court to prove a point while a witness was testifying in a rape case,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Superior Court Judge David Barrett told the witness that she might as well shoot her lawyer because she was “killing her case.” He pretended to offer her his handgun before prosecutor Jeff Langley told the judge the move was inappropriate and asked him to put away the weapon. “When it happened, I objected and sought to take control of the situation and terminate that conduct immediately,” Langley told the Atlanta paper. The female victim, who had accused a Sheriff’s deputy of rape and aggravated assault with a handgun, was not being cooperative during the latter part of her testimony, Langley said. That's when the judge pulled out his pistol. The woman's lawyer, Andrea Conarro, called the moment “one of those slow motion kind of events.” “Later, as it sunk in, I was upset, and I felt like a tragedy had been created,” she said. Under Georgia law, judges are permitted to carry concealed weapons in a courtroom but they are not allowed to point a gun at another person without just cause. The Judicial Qualifications Commission has launched a probe into the incident but Judge Barrett has not faced any criminal charges, according to Langley.

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Judge Pulls Gun In Courtroom: David Barrett Under Investigation In North Georgia
The Huffington Post by Andy Campbell  -  February 28, 2012
Some judges pack a gavel -- this judge was packing heat.

A Georgia judge is under fire after he allegedly pulled his pistol in a courtroom in an apparent attempt to drive a point home to a sexual assault victim. Lumpkin County Superior Court Judge David Barrett wasn't angry, but making "a poor rhetorical point" when he flashed the piece this week, District Attorney Jeff Langley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Barrett was presiding over a sexual assault case in which a woman brought charges of rape and aggravated assault against Scott Sugarman, a former Hall County sheriff's deputy.  But when the victim took the stand to testify, Barrett told her that she was "killing her case" -- allegedly because she wasn't cooperating -- pulled out his gat and pretended to hand it her way. "[Barrett said] 'You might as well shoot your lawyer,'" Langley told the paper. The woman -- whose name is being withheld because she may be the victim of a sexual crime -- wasn't shocked and "thought it was a test" by Barrett to gauge her reaction. Langley claims that he objected and approached the bench to tell Barrett to put the gun down. Now Barrett is under investigation by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which probes judge misconduct, the Associated Press reported. Georgia law allows judges to carry concealed handguns in the courtroom, but it's a crime to point a gun at another person if there's no reason to do so.