Illinois Judge Pleads Guilty to Reckless Driving in Alleged Hit-and-Run Case

DuPage County judge Judge Kenneth Popejoy has pleaded guilty in a hit-and-run crash. While his lawyer insisted the crash was caused by a mechanical failure, Judge Popejoy pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

His guilty plea to the misdemeanor offense brought him a $500 fine and a sentence to six months of conditional discharge.

The judge told the court that he took “full and complete responsibility for my actions’’ but his lawyer insisted that the accident was due mechanical problems with the 2003 Jeep.

The judge will now face a judicial discipline proceeding. The accident itself is presumably on at issue given the absence of any known alcohol role. However, if it was a hit-and-run, it could cause problems for the jurist.

Kudos: Walter Feeney