"This Is Judge Kester." The Chief Judge Was Slumped at the Wheel on the Wrong Side of the Highway
Frame by Badgecam
12,058 views
A woman climbed in through the back window of a slowly rolling pickup to put it in park. The driver behind the wheel was the chief judge of Iowa's Second Judicial District.
Adria Kester pleaded guilty in December 2025 to operating while intoxicated, first offense. She resigned as chief judge two days after the arrest. As of the latest reports, in July 2026, she remained a district judge, suspended with pay while the state's judicial conduct commission reviews her case.
Ogden, Iowa, Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 8:23 p.m. Two callers report a black pickup heading east in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 30, barely moving, with the driver slumped over the wheel. A deputy leaves a car-versus-deer report to respond. A town police officer gets there first and recognizes her.
This is the full night from five cameras on one clock: the 911 call, first contact in the median, the cup the deputies smelled and talked about seizing, the walk from the ambulance to the patrol car in real time with no narration, almost forty minutes in a jail sally port, the ride to the hospital, the blood warrant ("Of course."), the draw at 2:33 a.m., and the walk into the jail.
Then the legal breakdown: Iowa's implied consent law, why the blood needed a warrant (Missouri v. McNeely), why that warrant went outside her own district, the open-container question and what happened to the drink, why the truck went to her husband instead of a tow, grades for the officials, and five takeaways.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Wrong way on Highway 30
2:30 First contact in the median
6:03 The cup: "She's a judge, so just P's and Q's."
10:02 Real time, no narration: out of the ambulance
18:00 The sally port: "I'm going to need you to step out for me"
23:27 Hospital: "We do have a blood draw warrant for you."
26:39 Booking photo and the outcome
27:53 What the law says, and grades
ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
FRAME by BADGECAM takes official body-camera footage and walks through it timestamp by timestamp: multiple angles, synced to the second, followed by what the record and the court say.
DISCLAIMER
Adria Kester was arrested on November 4, 2025, and pleaded guilty on December 2, 2025, to operating while intoxicated, first offense, a serious misdemeanor in Iowa. Her sentence included probation, a fine, an OWI education program and a temporary license suspension. Statements about her current status reflect the latest public reports available at the time of publication. Grades and conclusions are opinion, not legal findings. On-screen times are Central time, synchronized across the cameras; one camera's built-in clock ran an hour ahead and is shown corrected. Strong language and the names of private individuals are bleeped. License plates are blurred. This video is for news, commentary and education.
FAIR USE
This video contains official public footage used for commentary, criticism and education under fair use.
CORRECTIONS
Spotted an error? Tell us in the comments and we will pin the correction.
#Bodycam #DUI #Judge #Iowa #OWI #ChiefJudge #LegalBreakdown
20 Comments
On bodycam - Gonna seize alcohol drink bc it's in plain view in her car
Off camera - Released car to her husband.
Off camera- cop poured out alcoholic beverage, instead of it being logged into evidence.
"This Is Judge Kester." The Chief Judge Was Slumped at the Wheel on the Wrong Side of the Highway
Frame by Badgecam
12,058 views
A woman climbed in through the back window of a slowly rolling pickup to put it in park. The driver behind the wheel was the chief judge of Iowa's Second Judicial District.
Adria Kester pleaded guilty in December 2025 to operating while intoxicated, first offense. She resigned as chief judge two days after the arrest. As of the latest reports, in July 2026, she remained a district judge, suspended with pay while the state's judicial conduct commission reviews her case.
Ogden, Iowa, Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 8:23 p.m. Two callers report a black pickup heading east in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 30, barely moving, with the driver slumped over the wheel. A deputy leaves a car-versus-deer report to respond. A town police officer gets there first and recognizes her.
This is the full night from five cameras on one clock: the 911 call, first contact in the median, the cup the deputies smelled and talked about seizing, the walk from the ambulance to the patrol car in real time with no narration, almost forty minutes in a jail sally port, the ride to the hospital, the blood warrant ("Of course."), the draw at 2:33 a.m., and the walk into the jail.
Then the legal breakdown: Iowa's implied consent law, why the blood needed a warrant (Missouri v. McNeely), why that warrant went outside her own district, the open-container question and what happened to the drink, why the truck went to her husband instead of a tow, grades for the officials, and five takeaways.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Wrong way on Highway 30
2:30 First contact in the median
6:03 The cup: "She's a judge, so just P's and Q's."
10:02 Real time, no narration: out of the ambulance
18:00 The sally port: "I'm going to need you to step out for me"
23:27 Hospital: "We do have a blood draw warrant for you."
26:39 Booking photo and the outcome
27:53 What the law says, and grades
ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
FRAME by BADGECAM takes official body-camera footage and walks through it timestamp by timestamp: multiple angles, synced to the second, followed by what the record and the court say.
DISCLAIMER
Adria Kester was arrested on November 4, 2025, and pleaded guilty on December 2, 2025, to operating while intoxicated, first offense, a serious misdemeanor in Iowa. Her sentence included probation, a fine, an OWI education program and a temporary license suspension. Statements about her current status reflect the latest public reports available at the time of publication. Grades and conclusions are opinion, not legal findings. On-screen times are Central time, synchronized across the cameras; one camera's built-in clock ran an hour ahead and is shown corrected. Strong language and the names of private individuals are bleeped. License plates are blurred. This video is for news, commentary and education.
FAIR USE
This video contains official public footage used for commentary, criticism and education under fair use.
CORRECTIONS
Spotted an error? Tell us in the comments and we will pin the correction.
#Bodycam #DUI #Judge #Iowa #OWI #ChiefJudge #LegalBreakdown