A Pima County judge will be in court next month as a defendant after he was arrested on a DUI charge.
Superior Court Judge John F. Kelly, 65, was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint about 9:25 p.m. Dec. 5 at East Sunrise Drive and North Suncrest Place, near North Craycroft Road.
He was given a misdemeanor DUI citation and ordered to appear in Pima County Justice Court Jan. 2.
Kelly is currently assigned to the civil bench and will not hear any alcohol-related cases, said Acting Presiding Superior Court Judge Richard Fields, who was recently advised of the situation.
"There is no allegation of bad or impaired driving and no allegation of an accident," said Kelly's attorney, Michael Bloom. "This is someone who was simply stopped at a checkpoint.
"We are optimistic that when his blood is analyzed, he will be proven innocent."
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Kelly became a Pima County Superior Court judge in 1988. Prior to that he served as assistant Arizona attorney general for one year and was in private practice for three years.
Cari Gerchick, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Supreme Court, said judges are required to report any arrests to the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The commission, however, will not take any action until the criminal case against the judge is resolved.
If judicial officers are convicted of a felony, they are required to resign, Gerchick said.
If they are convicted of a misdemeanor, the commission can impose a wide variety of punishments, up to removal from office, Gerchick said.
