The Judicial Qualifications Commission of Georgia held an ethics hearing Wednesday for a Georgia judge accused of damaging property, repeatedly firing an assault rifle and later pointing the weapon at law enforcement, following a domestic dispute with his wife in October 2021.

During the daylong proceeding, defense counsel for suspended Habersham County Chief Magistrate Judge Gerald W. Johnson argued the defendant should be allowed to return to the bench, considering his yearlong paid-suspension punishment enough.