Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Gregory T. Popovich
Gregory T. Popovich was a district court judge for the 17th District Court, which presides over Campbell County in Kentucky.[1] He was first elected to the bench in 1993 and was re-elected by voters in 2014.[2] He retired from the bench on March 16, 2016.[3]
Popovich began a 15-day suspension from the bench on July 1, 2015, based on the findings of the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. Read more about his suspension below.
Education
Popovich graduated from Bishop Brossart High School and earned his undergraduate degree from Thomas More College. He passed the bar exam and became licensed to practice law prior to his graduation from Chase Law School in June 1983.[4]
Career
Popovich started a private law practice that became the law firm of Popovich and Schiller. He remained with the firm until his election to the 17th District Court in 1993. During his time on the bench he has served as chief judge for a total of fourteen years.[4]
Elections
2014
See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
Popovich ran for re-election to the 17th District Court.
General: He defeated Cameron J. Blau in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 61.4 percent of the vote.
[5]
2010
- See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2010
Popovich ran unopposed and was re-elected to the 17th District Court in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6]
Noteworthy events
15-day suspension for misconduct (2015)
On February 19, 2015, the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission filed formal charges against Popovich for failing to observe "high standards of conduct" when his election opponent, Cameron J. Blau, appeared before him in court.[7] On August 5, 2014, Popovich accused Blau, the chief assistant county attorney for Campbell County, of "improperly assisting the Defense Counsel" during hearing motions in a traffic stop case.[8]
The commission found that Popovich "stated in open court that [his] grounds for this accusation were based, in part, on ex-parte hearsay statements made to [him] by attorneys who were not involved in the case at social gatherings outside of court," and that "[w]hen Defense Counsel denied receiving any improper assistance, [Popovich] accused him of lying in front of his client." Furthermore, the commission stated that Popovich made derogatory statements about Blau, called him an "alleged" chief assistant county attorney, and then declared that Blau did not practice law and only worked on computers.[8]
On March 10, 2015, Popovich filed his answers to the charges, denying the misconduct allegations against him. His attorney, Stephen Ryan, stated, regarding his client's actions, that "Judge Popovich was trying to determine if some unethical activity had taken place or if ... the case had to be dismissed."[7]
The commission's findings were released on June 18. They found that Popovich had violated five canons of the Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct, and suspended him from the bench for 15 days. Popovich said that he strongly disagreed with the decision, but decided not to appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court. He began his 15-day suspension on Wednesday, July 1.[9]
| “ | Upon reflection, I decided not to spend my children's college education money on an appeal. My actions were intended to protect our judicial system from unprofessional conduct.[10] | ” |
| —Judge Popovich[9] | ||
The full notice of formal charges and Popovich's answer can be found here.
More misconduct allegations (2015)
Not too long after Popovich concluded his suspension for the misconduct allegations set forth in February 2015, the judge received a letter from the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on October 2 listing 54 examples of alleged misconduct. Included in the new allegations is the complaint that Popovich "abused the subpoena process from his prior judicial conduct hearing in May to harass the previous complainant."[11]
Popovich filed a federal lawsuit claiming that his First Amendment rights were violated by the Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC). He claimed the ethics investigation was politically motivated and that the JCC violated the free speech rights of him and those who voted for him. He was joined in the suit by three residents who voted for him. "Out of fear of having their speech mischaracterized, judges will fail to speak candidly and provide the guidance for which they are sought," he said in the lawsuit.[12]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Gregory Popovich Kentucky judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Kentucky Court of Justice, "District Court Overview"
- Kentucky Court of Justice, "Judicial Directory"
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Kentucky District Court Judges," accessed September 17, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Kentucky Secretary of State, "Unofficial General Election Results," 2010
- ↑ Cinncinnati.com, "Controversial judge will retire Wednesday," March 15, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gregory Popovich Campaign Website, "Meet Judge Popovich," accessed September 17, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 Primary Election: District Judge," accessed February 5, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Unofficial General Election Results," 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cincinnati.com, "NKY judge accused of misconduct involving election foe," March 12, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kentucky Court of Justice: Judicial Conduct Commission, "In re the matter of: Gregory T. Popovich, District Court Judge 17th Judicial District," accessed March 13, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cincinnati.com, "Judge takes suspension but balks at decision," June 30, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ WCPO Cinncinnati, "New misconduct allegations for Campbell County Judge Gregory T. Popovich," December 16, 2015
- ↑ ABA Journal, "Facing new conduct probe, Kentucky judge fights back in First Amendment suit," January 21, 2016
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
