Multiple defendants assigned to Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Terrinee Gundy’s docket were illegally jailed until public defenders sued for their release because of Gundy’s alleged failure to act on their cases, according to Georgia’s judicial watchdog.

The allegedly illegal detentions stemmed from what the state Judicial Qualifications Commission said was Gundy’s chronic tardiness. On Wednesday, the JQC’s investigative panel filed formal ethics charges against Gundy, contending the judge has for years repeatedly breached the state Code of Judicial Conduct.