Judge moves 'affluenza' teen's case to adult court

[rooster59]

Judge moves 'affluenza' teen's case to adult court

EMILY SCHMALL, Associated Press


FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A judge on Friday sent the Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck to adult court, raising the possibility that he could get jail time for the 2013 crash that killed four people.

Ethan Couch was 16 at the time of the crash. During his juvenile trial, a defense expert invoked the term "affluenza" while arguing that Couch's wealthy parents had coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility.

Friday's ruling means the now 18-year-old Couch could face up to 120 days in jail, then finish his 10-year probation. But if he violates his probation during that time, he could get up to 10 years in prison for each of the four people who were killed.

Among those attending the hearing was Sergio Molina, who was riding in the back of Couch's pickup and left paralyzed. He can only communicate by blinking his eyes.

Molina attended with his mother and brother, Alexander Lemus, who said that what he wanted from the Couches was "that they pay."

"What's 120 days in county?" Lemus asked. "That's nothing. We need help. They have so much money, they need to pay."

The judge ordered that the case be transferred before Couch turns 19 in April. He remains in the county's maximum-security jail and in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day.

"I wish I could say I've seen some sense of remorse. I won't say that," Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said. "I do believe, from seeing him and talking to him, that it's become more real to him."

Couch's attorney, Scott Brown, did not fight the transfer. Although he has not explained the strategy, the punishment could have been greater if the judge had kept the case in the juvenile system.

Staying in juvenile court could have set off a series of hearings to determine if Couch violated his existing probation, which potentially could have led to 10 years in adult prison when Couch ages out of the juvenile system at 19.

By having the case transferred to the adult system, Couch will not face the possibility of decades in prison unless he violates probation in the future. He may, however, face up to several months in the county jail.

After the hearing, Brown said he would not request any specific terms of probation for Couch.

A hearing to set the probation terms has not yet been scheduled.

Couch and his mother disappeared in December, as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation. They were later found in Mexico and deported.

Couch's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit for adult drivers when he rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of people trying to help a stranded motorist on the side of a road near Fort Worth.

The probation sentence handed down by a juvenile court judge outraged prosecutors, who had called for him to serve detention time.

Affluenza is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation during Couch's trial provoked a backlash from some medical experts and families of the dead.

Authorities believe that Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in early December, after an online video surfaced that appeared to show the younger Couch at a party where alcohol was being served. Drinking alcohol would be a violation of his probation.

Mother and son were apprehended on Dec. 28, in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta. Tonya Couch was quickly deported, and after being returned to Texas, she was released on bond with a GPS monitor. The 48-year-old woman is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.

Her son initially fought deportation but later dropped the fight and was returned to Texas in late January.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-20

[Somtamnication]

Mom and sonny should have moved to Thailand.

[ezzra]

maybe after he will share a tiny cell with a bunk's mate called Bubba who will teach him the ways of the real world, only than he will come to his senses.....

[khwaibah]

Hang um by the short hairs.

[Geoffggi]

This whole story stinks, this is not justice just because his parents molly coddled him he was not guilty, only in America can this be a reason; they should also jail his parents for not bringing him up with respect for others..!!!!

[Hayduke]

This whole story stinks, this is not justice just because his parents molly coddled him he was not guilty, only in America can this be a reason; they should also jail his parents for not bringing him up with respect for others..!!!!

Right...something like this could never happen here.

[worgeordie]

Its the same all over the World,the rich have a false reason of entitlement,

they think money can buy them anything,especially responsibility,"We have

more than you,so we are better than you",American and Thailand same, same,

in this respect.

regards Worgeordie

[Geoffggi]

This whole story stinks, this is not justice just because his parents molly coddled him he was not guilty, only in America can this be a reason; they should also jail his parents for not bringing him up with respect for others..!!!!

Right...something like this could never happen here.

You misunderstood, I said a reason for him not being to blame, here in Thailand it is only money that counts

[geriatrickid]

maybe after he will share a tiny cell with a bunk's mate called Bubba who will teach him the ways of

the real world, only than he will come to his senses.....

There is nothing remotely funny about prison rape. If someone is sentenced to prison for a crime, the sentence does not include being raped.

Edited February 20, 2016 by geriatrickid

[Ulic]

Someone is responsible for the four deaths. If not the boy the parents can do his time if they are responsible.

[howrub]

This whole story stinks, this is not justice just because his parents molly coddled him he was not guilty, only in America can this be a reason; they should also jail his parents for not bringing him up with respect for others..!!!!

And the Red Bull grandkid? Was that in America?

Note that I am also sickened by the Affluenza case, but the tremendous disparity between the treatment of the wealthy and the rest is everywhere, and certainly here.

[Smokin Joe]

The 10 year probation may well end up being harder on him than if they threw the book at him initially. He'll probably keep violating probation and end up with some serious jail time.

I don't have much sympathy for the other kid though who was a passenger though. His decision to ride with someone that drunk was just as irresponsible as the driver's actions.

[Credo]

maybe after he will share a tiny cell with a bunk's mate called Bubba who will teach him the ways of the real world, only than he will come to his senses.....

I don't think he will be doing the driving either.

[Shaunduhpostman]

You think afluenza will cause you to commit crimes, wait till you have a case of poverfluenza.

"Judge Judy, the guy conned those people out of their life savings because of a sickness called poverfluenza. That sickness can only arise in people who feel they lack enough money and lack the means to get the money otherwise than to take it from others. Your honor, it is sickness, not a crime, and I would like to ask you and the jury to dismiss the charges, so that my client may take a long vacation in Hawaii or Thailand and recover his mental health and once again begin to respect other people's money and property."

[timendres]

maybe after he will share a tiny cell with a bunk's mate called Bubba who will teach him the ways of

the real world, only than he will come to his senses.....

There is nothing remotely funny about prison rape. If someone is sentenced to prison for a crime, the sentence does not include being raped.

Where is the word "rape" in that post?

[up-country_sinclair]

My understanding is that the young man will only receive 120 days in jail and then 10 years of probation. 4 months seems far too short to me. And I'm not referring to the four people he killed. While I disagree with the decision, that was already decided by the courts. I'm referring to his attempting to abscond from justice by leaving the country. Surely 120 days is too short.

[Credo]

Whether you agree with how the case was handled, the legal system has followed up on him. 120 days seems short, but the 10 years of probation and what happens if he violates it will be the trial by fire for this person. If he screws up, his 120 days will seem like a spa-holiday.

Whether it's cases like pursuit of Roman Polanski or this kid, the US legal system has a very, very long memory and little concern for fame or fortune.

[SABloke]

....Whether it's cases like pursuit of Roman Polanski or this kid, the US legal system has a very, very long memory and little concern for fame or fortune.

The same legal system that let him off the hook because he had ''affluenza'' ???

[Geoffggi]

This whole story stinks, this is not justice just because his parents molly coddled him he was not guilty, only in America can this be a reason; they should also jail his parents for not bringing him up with respect for others..!!!!

And the Red Bull grandkid? Was that in America?

Note that I am also sickened by the Affluenza case, but the tremendous disparity between the treatment of the wealthy and the rest is everywhere, and certainly here.

No the Red Bull case was in Thailand but once again I reiterate, there was no affluenza claim, just the wealth of the family influenced the outcome to date.