Arizona judge charged with extreme DUI in March steps down

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - A judge in central Arizona who was charged with extreme DUI earlier this year has resigned.

The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said Friday that Celé Hancock has agreed not to serve as a judicial officer in Arizona again.

The independent state agency said it won’t pursue disciplinary sanctions against the 45-year-old Hancock, who had been a Yavapai County Superior Court judge since 2010.

According to a Prescott police report, Hancock was seen stumbling out of a grocery store on March 19 before driving off.

Police said body camera footage of the traffic stop showed Hancock telling officers that she drank a couple of glasses of wine a few hours before being pulled over.

Breath tests showed Hancock initially had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.158% with later tests at 0.219% and 0.214% —all far above Arizona’s DUI threshold of 0.08% for drivers, police said, adding she was charged with extreme DUI.

Hancock pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge in May, spent a day in jail and paid a fine of $1,650.

Following Hancock's arrest, the Arizona Supreme Court ordered her cases to be reassigned to other judges.

Hancock was elected to the bench by voters for Yavapai County’s 5th judicial division in 2010 and ran unopposed in 2014, 2018 and 2022.