<p>We had a case like that in our town several years ago. Young man from a rich family was driving drunk on his way to a high school dance and knocked a cyclist over and killed him. Drove on to the dance, followed by a concerned citizen who called the police. Police came to the dance and arrested him and the dance was closed down. He got away with a slap on the wrist - a year’s house arrest and probation. Everyone was furious and there was definitely a feeling that his family’s money spoke and his Hispanic victim and family were regarded as unimportant.</p>
<p>He didn’t learn from it. (surprise). This year he was again arrested for drunk driving and was sent to jail to serve out the suspended sentence. Fortunately he did not kill anyone this time.</p>
<p>I don’t think they went as far as an actual afluenza defense, but everyone knew he got off light first time round because of who he was and who his parents knew. Disgusting.</p>
<p>I often wonder if the witch that hit and nearly killed my father after just a “couple of drinks at lunch”- for which she never even got a ticket- ever went on to really kill someone or destroy someone else’s family. I don’t know why she never got a ticket, whether it was because of wealthy or connections or what, and I never really cared to. The “why” wasn’t nearly as important to me as the fact that she never paid for it, never apologized, never did anything but blame my father (who was sober and had the right of way). </p>
<p>Six families now have to live with knowing that he got off the hook. I don’t know if it’s made easier or harder by knowing the reasons why.</p>
<p>I heard on the evening news that the convict’s parents are spending $950k for two years in the spa like rehab school. Maybe their strategy is to spend down their cash assets in preparation for the lawsuits. One of the passengers is paralyzed. The teens shoplifted the beer from a Walmart. Will he be tried for larceny? </p>
<p>Maybe one of the attorneys who frequent this forum can comment but I wonder if the states attorney general can vacate the sentence while they investigate the judges financials. This is so incredible that I think she must have been bribed.</p>
<p>Learned a couple of things from TV. The judge is retiring, so she won’t be standing for election.</p>
<p>This accident was this kids second drunk driving offense. How did this kid even have a license? What kind of parent’s gave him a truck to drive? They should be held criminally responsible too.</p>
<p>Can the parents be found responsible in a civil court? I was under the impression that only the kid could be sued, who presumably has no real assets.</p>
<p>The truck the kid was driving was owned by the family’s company. The article I linked said the kid had a learning permit which stipulates that an adult driver be in the front seat when he drives (which there wasn’t) and new drivers in Texas are only allowed to have one teenage non-family passenger. I believe I read where he was 15 at the time of the accident. Because he is a minor, I absolutely think the parents can be sued. And since the truck was registered to the company, the company can probably be sued, too. But it is my understanding that anyone can sue anyone for anything in Texas. If the civil cases go to trial, the juries here will not be as lenient as that judge.</p>
<p>Except that those with better lawyers or lenient judges will manage to avoid the mandatory minimums by getting only a lesser conviction, if any.</p>
<p>Or perhaps she had a pre-existing bias toward leniency with respect to DUI/DWI.</p>
<p>Consider two people, one of whom regularly drives after drinking, but has had the luck not to cause any crashes or get caught yet, and another who lost a family member in a crash caused by a DUI/DWI driver. If you were the defense lawyer in this case, which would you rather have for a judge in this case?</p>
<p>I wondered if she (the judge) had children and had been the type of parent to fight consequences for them, so she had sympathy for the parents and the upbringing of the kid.</p>
<p>Did you see the interview of the father of the victim? It was beyond heartbreaking. This was not some negligent accident, this kid was caught drunk driving for the 2nd time. </p>
<p>I have zero leniency for drinking and driving, they could lower it to zero as far as I’m concerned. </p>
<p>If they aren’t going to toss this kid in jail for being too spoiled - then the parents should serve the time for spoiling him and not holding him accountable to live in civilized society.</p>
<p>Prosecutor wanted a sentence of 20 years in prison and is outraged along with the victims’ families. There’s now a petition calling for the judge to be removed.</p>
<p>There’s also some reports this judge has had a history of disparate sentencing in past cases depending on the SES status or the race of the defendant concerned. </p>
<p>Then again, the disparity in treatment in court systems based on SES status has been with us throughout history…</p>
<p>This kid has behaved like an entitled idiot because his rich parents never imposed consequences and/or fought the system every time it did try to impose consequences. Therefore, he needs to have no consequences because, well, that’s how he was raised, and by golly, that’s not his fault.</p>
<p>Not a big surprise, since high SES people are better able to hire armies of lawyers, jury selection consultants, and private investigators that low SES people cannot afford to hire.</p>
<p>Judges are also more likely to come from high SES backgrounds, simply because the needed educational background is less accessible to those from low SES backgrounds. A judge or juror who sees himself/herself is being a potential defendant in the case may have a different initial bias versus one who sees himself/herself as being a potential victim (criminal) or plaintiff (civil) in the case. The latter may also occur with respect to race or ethnicity.</p>
<p>It is certainly ironic that his affluenza caused him to think there are no consequences for bad behavior, yet he kills four people and critically injures two and still there are no consequences. That’ll teach him.</p>