Kansas Supreme Court suspends state lawmaker’s law license after mishandled murder case

The Kansas Supreme Court has barred a Republican state lawmaker from practicing law in the state for at least one year for his handling of a Wichita murder case.

Rep. Carl Maughan, a Colwich Republican, violated multiple sections of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct while representing 57-year-old Bret Blevins in a deadly 2016 crash that killed two Starkey clients, Dirk MacMillan, 46, and Leonard “Dusty” Atterbery, 25, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled.

The violations included conflicts of interest, failure to safe-keep a client’s property and misconduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Maughan did not return a phone call Friday afternoon.

The disciplinary decision said it was Maughan’s third disciplinary action. His first two violations of the rules of professional conduct — for lack of diligence in 2007 and “meritorious claims and contentions” in 2010 — resulted in diversion agreements and were ultimately dismissed.

The complaint against Maughan stems from his failure to properly address conflicts of interest in the Blevins case.

Blevins and his girlfriend, Tammy Akers, were the only occupants of the vehicle that struck a Starkey van. Akers was a key witness, and Maughan’s defense strategy included implicating her as the driver. The conflict arose because Maughan had previously represented Akers in DUI cases and because Akers and her husband had paid Maughan $30,000 to represent Blevins.

Maughan had argued that he secured conflict-of-interest waivers from Blevins and Akers, but the Kansas Supreme Court found that Maughan failed to properly address the conflict and that the waivers failed to fully inform them of the consequences of the conflicts of interest.

At trial, Maughan blamed Akers for the crash, arguing that she was the driver. Maughan later explained that his knowledge of her history and record — from his prior work as her lawyer — allowed him “to be more aggressive on cross examination” of Akers, according to the Supreme Court decision.

Akers testified that Blevins was the driver. Blevins convicted and sentenced to more than 60 years in prison for two counts of second-degree murder in 2017.

The Kansas Court of Appeals found in 2021 that “Blevins’ attorney had several conflicts of interest which adversely affected his representation” and ordered a new trial. Blevins pleaded guilty to multiple involuntary manslaughter charges in December 2023, and he was sentenced in March to 13.5 years in prison, including the more than 7 years he has already served.

Blevins filed a civil lawsuit against Maughan in the Kansas 18th District court in December over his handling of the case. He alleged Maughan committed legal malpractice. He claimed Maughan told him to invoke the Fifth Amendment because there was evidence, including DNA evidence, that would potentially implicate Akers in the crime. Akers then testified against Blevins “as a key State’s witness.”

Blevins is seeking an award in excess of $75,000 in that case.

Maughan’s failure to safe-keep property violation stemmed from his decision to deposit the $30,000 payment from Akers into his law firm’s operating account, instead of a trust account, as is required by law.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that Maughan’s actions harmed Blevins, Akers, victims and their families and placed “an undue burden on resources of the criminal justice system.”

Maughan has said he terminated his re-election campaign. But his name is on the ballot for the Kansas House District 90 primary alongside three other Republican candidates because he missed the deadline to have it removed. He announced he would drop out of the race last month after he was charged with two misdemeanors and two traffic violations in Topeka: possession of a firearm while under the influence, DUI, failure to signal a lane change and failure to maintain safe passage from a single lane.

This story was originally published June 14, 2024 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Kansas Supreme Court suspends state lawmaker’s law license after mishandled murder case."