Chief Judge Hadrian Volt is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was chief judge of Mega-City One between 2116 and 2121. Judge Dredd (Joseph Dredd or Joe Dredd) is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazines longest running (having been featured there since its second issue in 1977). ... Cover of the first issue of 2000 AD, 26 February 1977. ... The Chief Judge of Mega-City One is dictator and head of state of the fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America. ... Mega-City One is a huge fictional city covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. ...

He became a street judge in 2096 and fought in the First Robot War and the Apocalypse War. He later served in the SJS and in the Aliens Bureau. In 2114 he was promoted to chief of Sector 53, where his outstanding administrative ability and judgement reduced violent crime in his sector to the second lowest level in the city. Judge is a title held by several significant spores in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comic book 2000 AD. In the fictional future history of the series, the role of Judge combines those of judge and police officer, thus avoiding long legal wrangles by allowing for... ... The SJS or Special Judicial Service, in the fictional Judge Dredd universe created by 2000 AD, are sometimes referred to as the Judges of the Judges. ...

When Chief Judge McGruder resigned her office in 2116, there was no Council of Five to choose a new chief judge in the normal way, since she had dissolved the Council years earlier. Therefore she ordered that her successor be elected by the city's 400 Senior Judges. After careful consideration, Volt decided to stand as a candidate in this unprecedented election, and polled a clear majority of the votes (208), defeating three other candidates, including Judge Dredd himself. Judge Evelyn McGruder is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd stories published in the comic book 2000 AD. She was first female Chief Judge of Mega-City One, and the first Judge to become Chief Judge twice. ... The Council of Five is a fictional legislative body in the Judge Dredd universe. ...

Volt immediately set about instituting significant constitutional reforms. He reinstated the Council and permanently established the new system of electing chief judges. In 2117 he restored the obsolete office of Mayor of Mega-City One and created a council of elected citizens to give the people more say in how they were governed (although ultimate power continued to reside with the Justice Department). He also established a policy of encouraging the judges to foster better relations with the community.

In many ways Volt proved to be an outstanding chief judge. But when the city was overrun in the Second Robot War of 2121 he blamed himself for having failed to do enough to prevent it. Even when the war was ultimately won, the burden of personal responsibility weighed too heavily on his mind for him to bear. He waited until the bitter end, and then at the moment of victory he shot himself.

But the general public would never be told the truth. Acting Chief Judge Hershey decided that in the aftermath of such a cataclysmic conflict the Judges' interests required a more heroic death for their fallen leader. The Public Deception Unit therefore set about concocting a false story in which Volt had died valiantly in combat, and fabricated the evidence to prove it. Judge Barbara Hershey is a fictional character, part of the fictional universe recounted in the Judge Dredd series that appears in the UK comic book 2000 AD. Shortly after her graduation from the Academy of Law, Judge Hershey was the surprise choice to join the crew of the Justice 1...

Volt was succeeded by Chief Judge Hershey, who was elected in her own right in early 2122.

• Volt was the author of two books: Riding the Apocalyspe, a history of the Apocalypse War, and Just Justice, setting out his ideas for legal and political reforms.