Jason Kimble Censured

Jason Kimble, a Harnett County, North Carolina District Court judge, was censured by the North Carolina Supreme Court on May 23, 2025, following a September 25, 2023 traffic stop in which he rear-ended another vehicle while driving with his minor daughter in the car. Trooper Geoffrey C. Middlebrooks found Kimble's blood alcohol content measured .22 and .23 on two portable breath tests -- nearly three times the legal limit. According to the Court's findings, Kimble was belligerent during the stop and repeatedly invoked his judicial position in an attempt to persuade the trooper not to charge him with DWI, then resisted arrest, forcing Middlebrooks to place him on top of the patrol car's trunk to handcuff him. The North Carolina Supreme Court called the censure the "minimum acceptable consequence" for his conduct. In a separate opinion, Justice Phil Berger Jr. argued Kimble should have resigned rather than merely being censured.