# Judge Lets Killer Drunk Driver Off Because He's Spoiled **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 12, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119 "2013-12-12T00:00:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/141 "2013-12-19T20:42:58Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > As to his license, it will be automatically suspended for one year; the judge could make surrendering his license and not driving a condition of probation longer than that. Driving without a valid license is a new criminal offense and is a violation of his probation. If he is ever allowed to drive, he will be required to put an deep lung air device (aka ignition interlock) at his own expense on any vehicle he drives which will test his breath for alcohol before the car will start and retest every twenty minutes that he drives. Do we know the full list of charges? He probably won’t be driving for a long time. He probably got A. Vehicular manslaughter, B. Agg assualt by vehicle, C. Driving without a License, D. Reckless Driving, E. Failure to stay in lines maintained for traffic, F. DUI, as well as a bunch of others. I would be surprised if his license isn’t suspended for at least 4 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/142 "2013-12-19T22:41:56Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What are the guidelines in that district for trying a minor as an adult? That’s the next question. Probably being poor and/or black. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/143 "2013-12-19T23:21:12Z")
**Pravnik** , you practice criminal law in Texas, don’t you? Is it likely or possible that the kid can petition later to commute the term of his probation? Also, how does being on probation work if the kid goes to college in another state? Or overseas? If the kid goes to college in, say, California, can he move in a California family or criminal court to alter the terms of his probation, or does he have to go back to Parker County to do it? The reason I bring all of this up is I’ve read that he has a shot at serving a lot less time on paper than the 10 years he’s been given, especially if he moves for that after he’s 18, and if he’s out of the state or the country. I agree that, with the tidbits about his criminal history that are leaking out, no way he makes it 10 years on probation without violating it. But then, the cited Texas criminal blog and Mark Bennett’s observations aside, probation should never have been an option in the first place. Just ask [Jaime Arrellano](http://www.tdcaa.com/node/1543). Another fun fact. You get more time in Texas for possessing narcotics above a certain amount—the aggravated substance abuse crime mentioned by **Falchion** , than you do for killing four people while intoxicated. Something just sounds wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/144 "2014-05-30T17:07:34Z")
This story is back in the news today after a judge in one of the civil trials ordered that the murderer’s psychiatric records be turned over to the plaintiffs. [ > [@](#): > > Dr. Dick Miller testified last year that Couch was coddled into a sense of irresponsibility by his wealthy parents — a condition Miller called “affluenza.” Couch was 16 years old when he drunkenly rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of people, killing four. He was given probation. > > The family of a boy injured in the wreck is suing Couch’s family and wants Miller’s records as part of their case. ]([http://bigstory.ap.org/article/texas-judge-orders-affluenza-records-turned-over](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/texas-judge-orders-affluenza-records-turned-over)) ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/145 "2014-05-30T17:23:57Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > Probably being poor and/or black. More like poor and/or non-white. If this kid had been Hispanic not only would he have been tried as adult, but there would have been cries for immigration to check the citizenship of every member of his family. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/146 "2014-05-31T00:36:18Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The facts of the case are straightforward enough: > > > [@](#): > > > > …Prosecutors were pushing for 16-year-old Ethan Couch to spend 20 years in prison. However, State District Judge Jean Boyd sentenced Couch to a decade of probation… No one could argue the event wasn’t tragic, but honestly, would your irritation level by as high if a mentally unsound psych patient willfully murdered 4 people and was given a get out of jail free pass? I think the prosecutors push for 20 years was waaaaay overzealous - and I would say the same thing if I personally knew his victims. A 16 year old boy - rich & spoiled or dirt poor & neglected - with a 0.24% BAL - is hardly of sound mind. He was likely in blackout mode, and had no cognitive awareness of his actions or their fatal consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/147 "2014-05-31T00:50:46Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > No one could argue the event wasn’t tragic, but honestly, would your irritation level by as high if a mentally unsound psych patient willfully murdered 4 people and was given a get out of jail free pass? > > I think the prosecutors push for 20 years was waaaaay overzealous - and I would say the same thing if I personally knew his victims. A 16 year old boy - rich & spoiled or dirt poor & neglected - with a 0.24% BAL - is hardly of sound mind. He was likely in blackout mode, and had no cognitive awareness of his actions or their fatal consequences. This. The problem is that this defense DOESN’T fly for the poor and abused, not that it DOES for the rich. Now it’s possible this kid is jut an irredeemable sociopath, I admit. I haven’t studied the ins and outs of the case, and even if I had I wouldn’t be qualified to make a psychiatric eval. But this rush to lock up stupid children for life screws up our country royally–both in terms the potential for rehabilitation, and the massive expense of imprisonment. However deplorable his acts may have been, he will be a completely different person by the time he’s 25. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/148 "2014-05-31T02:25:13Z")
Hey, Hey, don’t you pay no mind You’re under 18 you won’t be doing any time ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/149 "2014-05-31T02:50:04Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This story is back in the news today after a judge in one of the civil trials ordered that the murderer’s psychiatric records be turned over to the plaintiffs. What murderer? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/150 "2014-05-31T03:22:40Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > {…} would your irritation level by as high if a mentally unsound psych patient willfully murdered 4 people and was given a get out of jail free pass? > > {…} A 16 year old boy - rich & spoiled or dirt poor & neglected - with a 0.24% BAL - is hardly of sound mind. He was likely in blackout mode, and had no cognitive awareness of his actions or their fatal consequences. Voluntary intoxication isn’t a legal defense, involuntary “mental unsoundness” is. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/151 "2014-05-31T04:20:51Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > I think the prosecutors push for 20 years was waaaaay overzealous - and I would say the same thing if I personally knew his victims. A 16 year old boy - rich & spoiled or dirt poor & neglected - with a 0.24% BAL - is hardly of sound mind. He was likely in blackout mode, and had no cognitive awareness of his actions or their fatal consequences. He got behind the wheel of a truck so drunk he was ‘in blackout mode’ and ‘had no cognitive awareness’. Fuck him. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/152 "2015-12-18T20:19:49Z")
Update: [The little shit is on the lam with his mother.](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/manhunt-for-texas-affluenza-teen-after-he-apparently-goes-missing/ar-BBnG7zs?li=BBnb7Kzocid=ansmsnnews11) Brief synopsis: A video of him at a party “where beer pong was being played,” surfaced (a clear violation of his probation), after which he failed to appear at his next meeting with his probation officer. An investigation was opened finding the house where he lived with his mother cleaned out. The father says their passports are missing. I’m sure he’s still feeling the effects of that nasty affluenza bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/153 "2015-12-18T21:08:21Z")
Yeah, I would think that a few years in the loving embrace of the TDOCJ should be able cure his horrible affliction. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/154 "2015-12-18T23:23:07Z")
Tdocj? ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/155 "2015-12-18T23:26:57Z")
Texas Department of Criminal Justice ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/156 "2015-12-18T23:37:24Z")
I can hear the brat now: “Me and my Mommy are gonna hide from you and get away! Mommy? Mommy? Let’s go, Mommy!” (Either something like that, or maybe Mommy is wormfood tonight…) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/157 "2015-12-18T23:59:42Z")
They can cure him affluenza! Freeze the parent’s account! ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/158 "2015-12-29T06:22:13Z")
He’s been caught. . .[in Puerto Vallarta](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/29/reports-affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-has-been-detained-in-mexico/). You can’t fix stupid. Goes on the run from the law and decides to flee to a popular resort town one country over that’s full of American (and particularly Texan) tourists. This would be like Edward Snowden trying to hide in Key Largo. All to avoid probation for a crime he should be doing 15 years for but lucked out of with an idiot judge. Hopefully he finally will get what’s coming to him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/159 "2015-12-29T08:21:06Z")
A public flogging appears called for here. Anyone up for a crucifixion? ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119/160 "2015-12-29T08:35:04Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > A public flogging appears called for here. Anyone up for a crucifixion? Let’s use a nail gun that happens to be manufactured with parental money! I hope he gets waaaaaaay more than just probation violation. 10 years??? Shit, in the first place myself and I’m guessing most of you dopers would’ve been charged four counts 2nd degree murder for killing four people driving drunk. Or something close. Part of me thinks he’ll do the ten years on house arrest for fuck’s sake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judge-lets-killer-drunk-driver-off-because-hes-spoiled/676119.md?page=9)