Kentucky Judge Resigns Over Bad Check Charge
A Kentucky judge has resigned after being reprimanded over his indictment on charges of writing a bad check.
Senior Judge Roger P. Elliott, who had been suspended pending the outcome of the case, had agreed to resign after he was publicly reprimanded Thursday by the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Friday.
Elliott had written a check for $8,194 to a lawyer who had represented him in a civil lawsuit, knowing that the bank wouldn’t honor it, according to the complaint against him.
At one point the judge appeared to claim that he was not mentally competent to stand trial. He later entered an Alford plea, which is an acknowledgment there was enough evidence to convict him.
In October, a judge ordered Elliott to make restitution and serve 30 days of home detention on the bad check charge as part of a pretrial diversion program.
The judge had also been indicted on another bad check-writing charge, but the case was dismissed after he made restitution.
