While a judicial board weighs whether she can continue serving on the Iowa bench, Judge Adria Kester is trying to prevent the public from receiving information about her drunken driving arrest.
Kester, who pleaded guilty in December to operating while under the influence, filed a petition May 13 to block the Boone County Sheriff’s Office from releasing documents from her case. Her filing came after two requesters, including a Des Moines Register reporter, asked for investigative records tied to her arrest.
Kester stepped down as chief judge of the Fort Dodge-based 2nd Judicial District shortly after her Nov. 4 arrest but remains a judge. She has been suspended with pay for about seven months, pending a review from the state commission that oversees judges.
Kester has earned about $90,000 since the commission suspended her Nov. 7.
Matthew Lindholm, Kester’s attorney, wrote in the May 13 petition that disclosure of investigative records like sheriff’s deputy body camera footage or analysis of Kester’s blood alcohol content would violate her constitutional rights. He wrote that releasing the records could “fan the flames” of anger toward the judge, reveal sensitive medical information, derail her rehabilitation and sway the board that could recommend discipline for Kester.
“Any public disclosure could influence any decision to impose licensing sanctions against her for her conduct,” Lindholm wrote.
Through her attorney, Kester declined to comment. Boone County Attorney Matthew Speers and Sheriff Andy Godzicki also declined to comment, citing the petition. A judge has scheduled a May 29 hearing on several motions as part of the case.
“I strongly believe in transparency and in complying with lawful public information requests whenever possible,” Godzicki said. “However, in situations involving active litigation, there are times when providing public comment could compromise the legal process or the county’s position.”
Sheriff’s report says judge slurred words, couldn’t walk
Kester, 56, has been a judge in north central Iowa since 2013 and rose to the rank of chief judge in her district in 2023.
Around 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 4, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, two people called 911 to report that someone was driving a truck slowly down the wrong side of U.S. 30. The callers said the truck drifted into the median, and one witness said the driver appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel.
A witness said she climbed into the truck through a back window and stopped the vehicle. When Deputy Cody Braunschweig arrived, according to his report, Kester’s eyes were bloodshot and watery. She slurred her words, he added, and he found a cup containing what smelled like alcohol.
When Kester got out of the truck, according to the report, she was unsteady and unable to walk. Braunschweig wrote that he asked her to submit to a field sobriety test, but she refused to respond to his request.
Deputies drove Kester to the Boone County Hospital. There, after receiving a search warrant, members of the sheriff’s office drew a blood sample from Kester, according to the report.
Kester pleaded guilty to operating while under the influence on Dec. 2. As a first-time offender, she received one year of probation, paid a fine and completed a substance abuse evaluation.
Despite suspension, judge still receiving pay
The Judicial Qualifications Commission, the state panel that oversees discipline of judges, performs much of its work in secret. State laws require the board to keep complaints against judges and any information members learn during investigations confidential.
The commission’s decisions, hearings and settlements with judges are likewise confidential. The commission’s actions only become public in the rare cases that the board turns over its findings to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ultimately decides whether to fire judges.
However, an Iowa law allows the commission’s chair to confirm a complaint against a judge when the case “is of broad public interest and providing this information will promote public confidence in the administration of justice.”
Steve Davis, a spokesperson for the Iowa Judicial Branch, told the Register in an email that commission chair Melvin Shaw allowed him to confirm that the board is reviewing a complaint against Kester. Davis added that Kester continues to receive a $170,000 annual salary while she is under investigation.
At that pay rate, Kester would have received about $91,500 from the time of her arrest through May 22.
The commission does not employ an investigator. Instead, the board gathers evidence itself when the group believes further inquiry is necessary. The group rarely believes further inquiry is necessary.
Since 2021, the commission has received about 1,200 complaints. The group has dismissed about 90% of those cases without an investigation.
According to the commission’s rules, the board files charges when it believes a judge committed clear and serious misconduct. Of the 1,200 complaints filed with the commission over the last five years, the panel determined that the evidence warranted a charge just once.
Judge, attorney resist disclosure of blood alcohol content on the night of arrest
On April 24, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office received a records request from Julian Hayes for copies of all records associated with Kester’s arrest. Hayes identified herself as “Independent Media” and wrote that she was filing the request “for purposes of legal analysis, oversight, and transparency in a matter of public interest in the decision-making and accountability of law-enforcement.”
Speers, the Boone County attorney, told Kester’s lawyer on May 5 that he had redacted the records and planned to release them. According to Kester’s petition, the records included body camera recordings and other video, as well as recordings of 911 calls, the warrant application to draw Kester’s blood, results from that blood test and other law enforcement reports.
Speers told Kester’s lawyer he intended to release the documents no sooner than May 13, according to the petition. Meanwhile, on May 6, a Register reporter filed a records request for body camera footage of Kester’s arrest.
Lindholm, Kester’s lawyer, wrote in his May 13 petition that a judge should block the sheriff’s office from releasing the records for several reasons. In particular, he wrote that no one has complained about how the sheriff’s office arrested or investigated Kester, indicating her case is not controversial or a matter of public interest.
“The Petitioner’s constitutional privacy interest outweighs the societal need for information,” Lindholm wrote.
He said the records include confidential medical information and that Kester suffers from a condition covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disclosing the information would be a form of discrimination against the judge because of the “stigma and harm that would follow the public disclosure,” he wrote.
The petition does not say what medical condition the records would reveal. However, Lindholm also included a deposition from Kester’s counselor, who said she has treated the judge’s mental health issues since January.
“Ms. Kester has been working diligently to address these issues and is making progress both in treating these issues and in her rehabilitation for her criminal offense,” the counselor wrote.
The records would also provide an estimate of Kester’s blood alcohol content at the time of her arrest, a detail missing from the sheriff’s office incident report. Lindholm objected to the release of that information, writing that Kester “has a constitutional right to privacy” from public disclosure of that detail.
The sheriff’s office drew the blood sample after receiving a warrant.
“She was subjected to a forced (withdrawal) of her blood, which was tested without her consent,” Lindholm wrote.
Added Kester, in an affidavit: “The withdrawal and testing of my blood was compelled and not consensual. I have a substantial privacy interest in my medical information, including the contents of my blood.”
In addition, Lindholm argued that disclosure of the records could influence the Judicial Qualifications Commission’s investigation of Kester, could add to “threats and innuendo” against her and her husband and could harm “the efforts she has taken to foster her rehabilitation.”
In her affidavit, Kester added, “The release of this information will cause emotional stress, trauma and depression which will negatively impact my emotional and physical well-being.”
Iowa Freedom of Information Council President Randy Evans, who advocates for open records requesters, said he understands why Kester would like to move on from her arrest.
“But as a judge,” Evans wrote, “scores of Iowa men and women have stood before her under similar circumstances. They were traumatized and embarrassed, too. Yet, their court records and police arrest reports are readily accessible to the public. The Iowa FOI Council thinks it would send a worrisome signal to treat the judge differently.”
Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on X at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Should records in Iowa judge’s drunk driving case be kept secret?
Reporting by Tyler Jett, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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