Newly released records, crime lab results and body-camera footage detail the November 2025 arrest of Judge Adria Kester, showing her blood-alcohol concentration well above the statewide limit and depicting an unresponsive driver pulled from the median of U.S. 30 near Ogden.
What the records show
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations reported that a blood draw taken about six hours after the arrest measured Kester's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) at 0.25%. A DCI analyst concluded the judge's BAC likely had been between 0.31% and 0.40% while she was driving. Iowa's legal BAC limit is 0.08%.
"I cannot ask others to be accountable while trying to decide which parts of my own story people are allowed to see. ... Some of those records may capture me at my very worst. I cannot change that, and I am no longer trying to."
Kester initially filed suit to prevent public disclosure of the arrest records, including body-camera footage and 911 calls. She later dropped that challenge; county officials released the records on July 15. Released video shows deputies attempting to communicate with Kester after drivers reported a truck traveling slowly and in the wrong direction on U.S. 30 on the evening of Nov. 4, 2025.
Local reaction and wider implications
The episode raises questions about how the judicial system responds when one of its own is charged with a serious driving offense. Judges preside over cases involving intoxication and public safety; transparency around incidents like this touches on public confidence in the bench. The case also illustrates routine interplay between local sheriff's offices, county hospitals and the DCI in handling impaired-driving investigations.
- Date of incident: Nov. 4, 2025
- Location: Median of U.S. 30 near Ogden
- Measured BAC (6 hours after arrest): 0.25%
- Estimated BAC while driving (DCI): 0.31%–0.40%
Key documents released
The packet made public includes the DCI laboratory report, deputies' body-worn camera footage and 911 call records. Body-cam video reportedly shows Kester sleeping at times, refusing to answer some questions and swearing at an officer. Prior disclosures in the case had not included the DCI's BAC conclusions.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal BAC limit (Iowa) | 0.08% |
| Measured BAC (hospital, ~6 hrs later) | 0.25% |
| DCI-estimated BAC while driving | 0.31%–0.40% |
As the case proceeds through whatever administrative or criminal processes follow, the records now available are likely to play a central role in any review. For now, the focus is on the facts captured on video and in lab reports — and how a member of the judiciary came to be the subject of an impaired-driving arrest on a busy stretch of highway.
