Latest on Ethan Couch Debacle and MADD’s Fight To End DWI’s

Today’s Hearing Postponed

Unfortunately the attempt to transfer Ethan Couch to the adult court system was postponed due to the failure to notify Couch’s parents. The universally despised “affluenza teen” remains in Mexico fighting extradition.

An attorney for Couch claimed today that Couch may have been taken to Mexico involuntarily. And just after the hearing was postponed, another attorney announced that Couch was dropping his attempt to stay in Mexico.

The insanity continues. The new hearing date is February 19th.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving posted a petition last week demanding that the Couch be transferred when he turns 19 in April. That will insure that he serves a jail sentence of up to 40 years if he violates his probation in the future (which is highly likely).

The petition says:

The nation has watched with anger and disdain as Couch continues to show blatant disregard for the law. The families impacted will never have their loved ones back. Couch must be treated like the adult he is.


Join us to fight affluenza. No more excuses. No more chances. No more victims.

Sign here if you want to join MADD in demanding Ethan Couch be treated as an adult.

Ethan Couch Case Tip of the DWI Iceberg 

The high-profile crash caused by Ethan Couch was horrific. Four people lost their lives and another teen will be paralyzed the rest of his life. 

A shocking 30 percent of all traffic deaths in Texas in 2014 involved drunk drivers.1,041 people died in Texas drunk driving accidents, including 677 intoxicated drivers, 163 passengers riding with drunk drivers, 163 occupants of other vehicles and 37 pedestrians and bicyclists.

Another Day, Another Celebrity Arrest

The Ethan Couch case has attracted intense media attention because of the heartbreaking facts of the collision and the bizarre details about his family, sentence, escape and capture. However, Couch is no celebrity. He is just one more drunk driver who destroyed the lives of the people he encountered and who deserves to be punished for his crime. 

Today, for example, it was revealed that a former supermodel was just arrested for being DWI in Connecticut. And every day seems to bring news of the intoxicated driving arrest of another well-known actor or sports hero. In the last several years, Randy Travis, Miguel, Michael Phelps, Kevin Hart, and scores of other big names have been pulled over. It almost seems like a badge of honor to them.

End the Madness

This has to stop.  As Jason Dersheid, the director of MADD in North Texas said this morning at the Couch hearing, “What we’d like to see is a national conversation about complacency with drunk driving and how it’s not acceptable.”

As the sponsor of the Fort Worth Walk Like MADD events the past few years and a MADD approved attorney, I wholeheartedly support this sentiment. I see the carnage caused by intoxicated driving crashes in my daily practice as a personal injury lawyer and pray that this destruction stops.

More than 20 people die in drunk driving crashes each week in Texas. Thousands more people sustain serious permanent injuries that change their lives forever. This has to end.

Sign the petition. Support MADD and our elected officials and law enforcement in stopping the scourge on our highways.

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