A North Texas teenager sentenced to probation for a drunken-driving crash that left four people dead is expected back in court.
A Wednesday hearing is scheduled in the case of Ethan Couch, who was given 10 years' probation for the wreck last year that also severely injured two people.
Judge Jean Boyd issued the original sentence, but she has not ruled on a prosecution request to give Couch jail time on charges related to the two people who were injured.
She also hasn't decided whether to send Couch to a pricey California rehab facility, as his attorneys have requested.
The teen's initial sentence of probation has stirred fierce debate, as has a defense expert who said Couch's wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility. The expert termed the condition "affluenza."
Judge Denies Media Request for Access
On Tuesay, Judge Jean Boyd denied a request by news media attorneys to be allowed to argue for access to future hearings for Ethan Couch, who is a juvenile.
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Judge Boyd gave no explanation for rejecting the request after a hearing that lasted only five or six minutes.
The attorneys for the news media represented NBC DFW, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and three other television stations.
While trials and hearings are usually public, juvenile courts sometimes operate differently because of privacy concerns that apply to juveniles and not adults.
