[quote=Agent B52]
*reads case* Correction, should not be a roadmap to the future.
[/quote]

Apparently, quoting won't include links. Anyway... Did you read about this case on the Onion? If that's the case, perhaps I should have been more specific in my original post. Any legal discussion I partake in is most certainly derived from reliable sources if not the cases themselves or the case books and experiences I have acquired over the years. Sometimes I think the Onion needs to wise up with what they do; satire is great, but people dismiss it so easily these days. Authors like Jonathan Swift go over looked where for the time he wrote his satire "A Modest Proposal" was viewed as being terribly serious and disgusting. But hell, at least people are being taught.

[quote=wonderlandalli]
I just think that a bit of jail time would cure that Affluenza right up.
[/quote]

Not only would jail time for the defendant help, but also a good frying pan to the face for the judge that allowed such a bullshit defense through pretrial. Granted, there are conditions that people are might be considered more "affluent" might be prone too such as obesity, substance abuse, et cetera. These things have been viewed based on their life style and their manner of living. I think there is some British psychologist that wrote about it. So perhaps there is a little validity to the idea that growing up rich causes a lack of understanding that actions have consequences and one needs to take responsibilities for those. However, there is a line. And this is it! If a kid gets into a fight or I might even be so bold as to say that if that kid was caught stealing the alcohol he later consumed - okay let's cut the dumb ass a break and try some more rehabilitative. But, four people are dead - four! There needs to be some punitive and retributive actions taken. Now this kid gets to grow up thinking mommy and daddy will always bail him out. Go 'Merica!

[quote=HeySeuss]
Affluenza, and the embrace of the concept, also makes it harder to go after with a straight face.We need to at least make a pretense of fairness in the justice system here, otherwise the plebes will rise up with pitchforks in hand! Harrumph.
[/quote]

Oh that's adorable... to think, there should be a semblance of fairness in our justice system!!! Oh the days where white men and white women have an equal chance of going to jail as minority men and minority women. When children can grow up in the hood and aspire to be something other than their best friend's cell mate. But yeah, I heard about that aforementioned case the other day. Pretty crazy. But, I doubt at this point she'll be able to take the "affluenza" defense and on top of that her attorney's can't even make an equal protection act because the fact that she has had a previous DUI will make a difference. However, maybe her lawyers will make an argument like "because she is a poor minority, she was more prone to drinking and cannot be held responsible for her actions because society forced her into a position where drinking and driving under the influence are commonly accepted acts." 

Quite frankly, I'm not sure what is wrong with people these days....