A judge suspected of deflating a tyre on a car near a courthouse has resigned after he claimed the act was not a "big deal".

The US Circuit Court judge, Robert C. Nalley, made the statements in a conversation with William D Missouri, chief administrative judge for Maryland's 7th Circuit.

"As judges, all we have is the public's trust," Missouri said. "If we lose that trust, we have nothing. I can assure you, [trust] will be maintained."

Nalley did not return phone calls from The Washington Post. But in an interview with the Maryland Independent newspaper published Wednesday, Nalley said that he had flattened the rear passenger-side tyre of a 2004 Toyota Corolla that was parked near the courthouse in La Plata.

Nalley told the Independent that someone had repeatedly parked in a restricted zone and that he had left notes for the driver. Letting the air out of a tire was less inconvenient to the driver than having the car towed, Nalley said.