Former Harvard Law Professor Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Homicide

Retired international law professor Detlev Vagts, 82, has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of Marcia Kearney in Newton, Massachusetts. In light of his plea and presumably his age, Vagts was spared prison time in favor of three years probation and six months of house arrest. He has been ordered not to drive for the rest of his life.

Vagts is the Bemis Professor of International Law, Emeritus. He spent 40 years as a professor at the Law School, retired in 2005.

Kearney, 54, was a Newton Country Day school teacher riding a scooter when Vagts hit her while driving partially in the opposite lane of travel. At the time, Vagts and his wife were lost and “running late for a dentist appointment.” Kearney was thrown more than 80 feet.

He was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the family.

Source: Boston as first seen on ABA Journal.