Kansas Attorney Suspended After Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol and Killing Bicyclist — and Then Leaving Scene of Accident

Kansas attorney Marc A. Schultz has been suspended from practice due to a car accident that raised serious questions about his fitness for practice. Schultz will be sentenced for involuntary manslaughter after driving under the influence of alcohol in a fourth such violation, killing bicyclist Timothy Roberts, 55, (shown right below) and then leaving the scene of an accident. It is rare for an attorney to be suspended for an accident unrelated to the practice of law. However, the repeatedly DUI violations and leaving the scene raise obvious professional problems for Schulz — in addition to being a felony crime which results in automatic suspension.

Schultz was driving with his son as a passenger when he hit Roberts. Blood tests revealed the presence of marijuana, a narcotic-like pain reliever and an antidepressant in his system. He also had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent (which is over the Kansas BAL of 0.08 percent).

He was driving a Pacifica. Within a matter of hours, he pled to the charges (a wise move in such a case).

I am not sure what is more shocking for a father (let alone a lawyer) driving with a combination of drugs and alcohol or leaving a dying man on the street with your son in the seat next to you. I’ll go with leaving the dying man.

The article below states that “Schultz had one DUI in 1989, which was placed on diversion, and two DUI convictions in 2000. For sentencing purposes, a DUI diversion is treated as a conviction.”

Ironically, Schulz is still listed on a website as one of the lawyers “in the state of Kansas that will help with Marijuana related issues.”

The family is considering a lawsuit and cyclist websites have noted that Roberts should have been in plain view — including showing a picture from the perspective of Schultz. It will be difficult for Schultz to defend against such a lawsuit given the narcotics and alcohol. He was negligent per se in driving under the influence. The jury would likely spend little time debating whether a sober person would still have failed to see Roberts.

Roberts (right) leaves behind a wife, four daughters, and grandchildren.

Source: CJOnline as first seen on ABA Journal.