A North Georgia judge accused of pre-signing arrest warrants and propositioning a woman who appeared before him has resigned from his office.

 Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran resigned at the close of business Wednesday. "I want to thank the people of Georgia and Murray County for allowing me to serve," Cochran said in a letter delivered to Gov. Nathan Deal Thursday morning.

Cochran, a former police officer who is not a lawyer, was reelected to a second term last month.

In recent weeks the Judicial Qualifications Commission began an investigation of Cochran for a number of alleged transgressions, one being that he may have pre-signed arrest warrants and left them for law enforcement officials to fill out when he was not in the office.

When seeking a warrant, an officer is first sworn in by a judge who then hears the officer's case and decides whether there is probable cause for an arrest. Once the warrant is signed, it can be served on a suspect who can then be taken into custody.

Murray County District Attorney Bert Poston has said he was waiting for the state judicial watchdog agency to finish its investigation before deciding whether to look into the allegations or refer the case to the state Attorney General's Office.

Cochran also was recently accused by Angela Garmley, 36, of Chatsworth, who said he propositioned her when she appeared before him in his office seeking to take out a warrant against three people who allegedly attacked her.

Garmley said Cochran told her he wanted a mistress he could trust and asked her to return to his office in a few days wearing a dress but no underwear. Cochran denied propositioning Garmely, saying "the truth will come out."

Garmely was arrested Tuesday night for possession of methamphetamine. A Murray County deputy pulled over a man driving Garmley and her husband in Garmley's car because the car's bright lights were on, according to the incident report.

After obtaining permission to allow a drug dog to sniff the car, the dog stood at alert, and the officer said he found a magnet box beneath the care that contained a crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine, the report said.

Garmley's lawyer, McCracken Poston, who is not related to the district attorney, said his client denies any knowledge there were drugs under her car and said he suspects they could have been planted there.

"This smells to high heaven," Poston said. "I'd like an independent agency to investigate this."