A Prince George's County judge is set to rule Monday on whether the suspension last week of Forest Heights' mayor was illegal.

Circuit Court Judge Nicholas E. Rattal will make that determination after he heard six hours of testimony this Monday in a civil suit filed by suspended Mayor Andrea McCutcheon that alleges the Forest Heights Town Council did not carry out the mayor's suspension properly.

The council suspended McCutcheon on Jan. 19 during a closed session after the mayor and the town treasurer submitted a budget report three days late. The suspension triggered a council-run investigation into the town's financial records that revealed the mayor signed employee bonus checks without the council's approval, among other charter violations.

McCutcheon is asking the judge to overturn her suspension on the grounds that it came without due legal process and should have occurred in an open meeting.

She also testified during the Monday hearing that she believes the suspension is politically motivated.

"The bottom line is this was not to show what I did wrong but to smear my name," McCutcheon said. The town's lead witness is Councilwoman Jacqueline E. Goodall, who is running against the mayor in the town's March 10 elections. In her testimony, Goodall denied that political motivations spurred the suspension.

The mayor testified that she did not learn of the suspension until less than an hour before the Jan. 19 meeting, in which the council unanimously approved a 90-day suspension. Two weeks later, the council opted to continue with the mayor's suspension after holding a public evidentiary hearing Wednesday night to examine the mayor's violations.

McCutcheon testified Monday that prior to the Wednesday meeting she was not provided with specific allegations against her and therefore could not properly defend herself.

The council, represented by town attorney Kevin Best, claims it did not violate McCutcheon's right to due process and that she had adequate opportunity to defend herself at the evidentiary hearing, when the council decided to continue her suspension effective through the next mayor's inauguration. The town also says it had the right to suspend McCutcheon during a closed meeting because it was a personnel matter.

McCutcheon, who has been mayor since March 2009, is up for re-election March 10, and the town charter does not prohibit her from re-seeking office. She faces Goodall and former town mayors Larry Stoner and Myles Spires Jr.

Spires was suspended of his mayoral duties in 2006 in a closed session amid allegations he misused and mishandled funds from the town, prompting the council to change its charter to limit the mayoral term to two years. He was cleared of the charges in March 2009.

Spires said it is "unfortunate" that political turmoil continues in Forest Heights.

"It tends to make a spectacle of the town," Spires said. "It should have been handled with some civility, and obviously it wasn't."

All four mayoral candidates attended the Monday hearing, which was contentious. McCutcheon, who acted as her own attorney, stormed out of the hearing just before Best's closing argument around 5 p.m.

McCutcheon, who did not return voice mail messages after Monday's hearing, claimed she was suspended before the council had all the facts.

"The suspension came first because it was the easiest way to have me lose an election. Had they done it right, they would have done the investigation first," she said.

Best, who declined additional comment after the hearing, said McCutcheon had several chances to defend herself to the Town Council, including the Wednesday evidentiary hearing and at a Jan. 22 special meeting, which the mayor did not attend.

He reiterated that McCutcheon has the chance to win a second term.

"If the people of the town want to reinstall her, they can do that," Best said. "But can you imagine bringing in a mayor that's now even more so at war with the council? The town would cease to function at all."

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