FORT WORTH, Texas — Lawyers for a Texas teen who cited “affluenza” as a defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck may be attempting to stall his deportation to the United States by claiming that Mexican authorities violated his human rights, according to legal experts.
Ethan Couch, 18, won a delay in his deportation based on a constitutional appeal in Mexico that could lead to a trial process that could last weeks or even months.
Any flaw in the process of his detention by Mexican immigration authorities can be considered a violation of due process and of his human rights, San Antonio attorney Javier Lopez de Obeso, who is licensed to practice in Mexico, said Thursday.
“If the immigration authorities didn’t act properly, he can find a way to stay in Mexico for more time,” said Lopez.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has said he believes Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking, which would be a violation of his probation. The mother and son were arrested Monday after using a phone to order pizza delivery that was traced to a condominium complex in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
Couch, who was 16 at the time of the crash and was tried in juvenile court, received 10 years’ probation for driving drunk and crashing into a disabled SUV parked on the side of the road in 2013. The collision killed four people and injured several others.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense expert argued that Couch’s wealthy parents had coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility — a condition the expert termed “affluenza.” The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew ridicule.
