The New American Royalty

I went out drinking last night. My girlfriend's childhood buddy's American friend was in town and we decided to take her out for some jenever.

As with most long conversations that I have where alcohol is involved, the topic of Dolly Parton came up. My girlfriend's buddy's friend was familiar with Jolene, so I decided not to throw beer at her. Anyway, then we started talking about what it's like to be rich in America, and somehow the topic of "affluenzza" came up.

No one was familiar with affluenza, and my girlfriend, who had been distracted talking in Dutch with her buddy, suddenly intervened and couldn't believe that some kid got away with killing 4 people by claiming that he suffered from being too rich and spoiled. "Yea, really, it's true!" I proclaimed, but no one believed me.

We exited the jenever place and headed to a Nepalese restaurant. Along the way, the street seemed desolate, and the rain greatly limited our visibility. If a 16-year-old kid drunk on stolen beer crashed into us and killed us right there, would the Dutch legal system simply allow his parents to pay for him to attend an expensive rehab/resort?

It sounded ludicrous, even in a country which still has a king. The king of the Netherlands, though he enjoys immunity in many aspects of his daily life, would likely be kicked off the throne. Even a smaller crime than vehicular homicide would at the very least spark a constitutional crisis.

A secret in plain sight
The United States is a country where 3000 minors have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and Texas would normally have no qualms with charging a 16-year-old murderer as an adult. So, how is it possible that a country feared worldwide for its brutal prisons and ruthless justice system can treat a member of the 1% with more privileges than European royalty?
 
When our young affluenza victim leaves his rehab facility in a year, he'll likely be watched over by a private probation officer. Would a private probation company want to anger an individual with connections inside of secret connections, an individual who can hurt stock prices?

Our teenage affluenza victim is the scion of one of America's most powerful and most secretive societies: Gold & Mandible. Cleburne Metal Works is one of the secret society's business fronts. The Couch Family has had run-in with the laws before, but has always managed to use their connections to get charges dismissed or reduced. Fred Couch, Ethan's father, has had 23 incidents with Texas police, but all cases have been dismissed.

Fred Couch
The judge handing down the decision knew how she had to rule, for the society has her under control. Gold & Mandible is a society which relies on infiltration and extortion. They are not concerned with becoming the faces of power, but in simply being able to blackmail men and women in power.

There are two legal systems in America. There's one for those without connections, and there's one for those who have the ability to intimidate people in the halls of power. Though a bribe usually goes a long way, it can always be pushed along by a few compromising photos. The question then becomes: did Gold & Mandible dig up something with which to blackmail Judge Jean Boyd? Has she been offered something by them? The evidence seems to indicate that she has been compromised.