A prominent Iowa judge has been charged with operating while intoxicated after concerned motorists reported seeing her unconscious behind the wheel while driving the wrong way on a major highway.
Dangerous Highway Incident
Adria Kester, the 55-year-old chief judge for Iowa's Second Judicial District, was taken into custody following multiple 911 calls from alarmed drivers shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Witnesses reported seeing her pickup truck moving eastbound in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 30 near Boone, a city close to Des Moines.
One concerned caller described the judge as appearing unconscious and "slumped over the steering wheel" as her vehicle drifted dangerously into the centre of the road. The situation became so alarming that one witness took extraordinary action by climbing into the truck through the back window and putting the vehicle in park to prevent a potential accident.
Signs of Intoxication
When a Boone County Sheriff's Office deputy arrived at the scene, he found Judge Kester in the driver's seat showing clear signs of severe intoxication. According to official reports, she appeared unsteady and heavily under the influence, requiring assistance to walk and eventually being helped into an ambulance for medical treatment.
Deputies discovered "a cup with a liquid that smelled like alcohol" inside the vehicle and noted that Kester had bloodshot watery eyes and slurred speech. Even after being cleared by medical services, she remained unable to walk independently and declined to answer whether she would submit to field sobriety testing.
Legal Proceedings and Professional Complications
Authorities obtained a warrant to collect a blood sample from Judge Kester at Boone County Hospital. She was subsequently arrested for her first offence of operating while intoxicated and was booked into jail around 4 a.m. Court records confirm she was released from Boone County Jail on Wednesday morning.
Boone County Sheriff Andy Godzicki confirmed that the blood sample had been sent to the state crime lab for analysis. He expressed relief that no one was injured during the incident and emphasised that his office had handled the case exactly as they would any other similar situation.
Kester entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday afternoon through her attorney, Matt Lindholm, a well-known Iowa lawyer specialising in drunk-driving cases. In a statement, Lindholm said: "Judge Kester recognizes the seriousness of the situation and is fully cooperating with law enforcement and the judicial process. She is committed to addressing this matter responsibly and in accordance with the law."
The case immediately encountered complications due to Kester's judicial position. A district associate judge recused herself on Wednesday, citing her professional relationship with Kester. Iowa Chief Justice Susan Christensen, who had originally appointed Kester as chief judge, ordered the matter reassigned to another district, with Judge Gregory Brandt appointed to preside over the case.
Distinguished Legal Career
According to her official profile on the Iowa Courts website, Kester graduated from Iowa State University in 1994 and Drake University Law School in 1998. Her legal career began as an assistant public defender, followed by six years in private practice before moving into prosecution roles.
She served as assistant county attorney in both Boone and Hamilton counties before becoming Boone County attorney. Kester joined the bench in 2013 as a district associate judge in Iowa's Second Judicial District, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
In 2017, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds appointed her as district court judge, again making history as the district's first female in that role. Her career reached another milestone in 2022 when she was appointed chief judge, overseeing courts across 22 counties and hundreds of staff members. She has been actively involved in statewide and local bar associations, as well as the Iowa Association of County Attorneys.
