Tennessee passes bill that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

[highroller]

But the reality is you can have a couple beers and drive, you just can't have a couple 6 times. If having 2 drinks with dinner makes me a criminal, does that mean all bars will have to go out of business, all nice restaurants will have to stop serving alcohol?

Because no restaurants and bars serve alcohol in Canada? Get the hell out of here….

Having a legal gray area is stupid. You could have a designated driver, you could rent an Uber, you could take a taxi, you could take public transportation, or you could take a Learjet; you just don’t drive with alcohol in your system.

 

[ClaraD]

It's an interesting proposition - and not that much different in concept than paternity cases. You don't have to show an 'intent to impregnate'. Child support gets awarded without regard to intent - even if one of the parties lied about protection, infertility, etc. The whole concept is to support the child, regardless of intentions.

Worth noting that if someone accidentally kills a person, their family can sue for damages anyway, including child support. Intent to kill isn't necessary - negligence is enough. Given that the burden is much lower for a civil case, they should win, but collecting can be a challenge. It makes some sense to pull the civil case out of the mix with regards to support of a child, shifting that legal and court burden from the child's family. It's not about 'punishment' of an offender, but setting the expectation for financial responsibility of the child.

the family can sue for wrongful death, but not child support...unless its a parent who was responsible.

 

[ClaraD]

But the reality is you can have a couple beers and drive, you just can't have a couple 6 times. If having 2 drinks with dinner makes me a criminal, does that mean all bars will have to go out of business, all nice restaurants will have to stop serving alcohol?

if you drive a truck and hold a CDL, you cannot drink one beer and drive. The limit for any CDL holder, in any vehicle is .04%

 

[ClaraD]

Because no restaurants and bars serve alcohol in Canada? Get the hell out of here….

Having a legal gray area is stupid. You could have a designated driver, you could rent an Uber, you could take a taxi, you could take public transportation, or you could take a Learjet; you just don’t drive with alcohol in your system.

Did you realize that you can fail the breathalyzer if you use mouthwash?

 

[ClaraD]

Ok, here is my take on this. First, we have civil remedies already for the victim. We have the civil courts for wrongful death suits, injuries, etc. The courts award and collect those judgments. We need to give them more power to collect. However, I do not think that child support is the correct thing to do. Both the parent surviving and underage children will get social security benefits to make up for some of that shortfall. Also, if there is life insurance, it is specifically for situations where you are left without a parent or spouse, either through natural or unnatural death.

I don't think it passes constitutional muster. You have to remember that we don't have debtor prisons for a reason.

 

[dcsports]

the family can sue for wrongful death, but not child support...unless its a parent who was responsible.

Part of the damages would be the lost wages that would have been used to care for the child. It's just not called child support.

The challenge is that the burden gets shifted to the family with the loss. They have to sue and win a judgement. Then they have to sue to collect. And that's assuming the child has a surviving parent and doesn't become a ward of the state. There's a lot of merit in making it more 'automatic' and shifting enforcement to the state.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Tennessee passes bill that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

If the defendant is incarcerated and unable to pay the required child maintenance, they have one year after their release to begin paying.

www.cbsnews.com

--

This is an interesting concept, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

So, I'll see what the good posters of DP think below.

I actually like the idea but I wonder if Tennessee will create the necessary resources to actually enforce this.
Given the anti-government stance of so many in that state, I have my doubts.

 

[ClaraD]

Part of the damages would be the lost wages that would have been used to care for the child. It's just not called child support.

The challenge is that the burden gets shifted to the family with the loss. They have to sue and win a judgement. Then they have to sue to collect. And that's assuming the child has a surviving parent and doesn't become a ward of the state. There's a lot of merit in making it more 'automatic' and shifting enforcement to the state.

Nothing should ever be automatic...that violates due process.

 

[dcsports]

Nothing should ever be automatic...that violates due process.

See the article/

 

[Chomsky]

Maybe drunk driving should just be felony. See how many people still do it after a few of their friends get thrown in prison for a year or two.

In my state it can be, either through aggravated circumstance, or multiple offenses.

 

[TurtleDude]

Like squeezing blood from stones.

will insurance be fashioned to cover this?

 

[MTAtech]

Tennessee passes bill that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

If the defendant is incarcerated and unable to pay the required child maintenance, they have one year after their release to begin paying.

www.cbsnews.com

--

This is an interesting concept, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

So, I'll see what the good posters of DP think below.

How does it work when drunks with little money cause vehicular homicide? That’s why states should require insurance.

 

[ClaraD]

See the article/

I don't need to see the article, if it is automatic, it violates due process....civil penalties and child support such as this...are punitive...meaning they require due process under the Constitution.

 

[Noodlegawd]

In my state it can be, either through aggravated circumstance, or multiple offenses.

Why stop there. Make it a felony on the first offense.

 

[ClaraD]

How does it work when drunks with little money cause vehicular homicide? That’s why states should require insurance.

insurance and civil wrongful death lawsuits are why I think this will never fly constitutionally. First, debtor prisons are part of the reason this country was founded and second that smells of double jeopardy and I loathe defending drunk drivers.....and wish this were possible, but our Constitution needs to be respected regardless of what I think sounds or feels good. Due process and no double jeopardy are both part of who we are.

 

[Chomsky]

Why stop there. Make it a felony on the first offense.

I think the current system is fine.

 

[Noodlegawd]

I think the current system is fine.

Yeah, so fine that 10 thousand people are still killed by drunk drivers every year.

 

[Chomsky]

Yeah, so fine that 10 thousand people are still killed by drunk drivers every year.

No law is 100% effective.

 

[Noodlegawd]

No law is 100% effective.

I guess we could use that excuse to avoid doing anything about pretty much any issue, couldn't we? No need for stricter gun control laws, right?

 

[trouble13]

Tennessee passes bill that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

If the defendant is incarcerated and unable to pay the required child maintenance, they have one year after their release to begin paying.

www.cbsnews.com

--

This is an interesting concept, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

So, I'll see what the good posters of DP think below.

My first reaction after reading this was "isn't that what civil courts are for?"

 

[Chomsky]

My first reaction after reading this was "isn't that what civil courts are for?"

Bingo!

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Tennessee passes bill that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

If the defendant is incarcerated and unable to pay the required child maintenance, they have one year after their release to begin paying.

www.cbsnews.com

--

This is an interesting concept, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

So, I'll see what the good posters of DP think below.

If you kill someone while driving drunk, you will likely spend several decades in prison. So I am not sure how this would work.

 

[reflechissez]

Man. This brings up all kinds of questions. Of course if you are the cause of the problem, you should be forced to fix it as best you can. So it makes sense to make the family whole if you kill a family member, especially one who is providing the funds for the family to survive. I think it would be odd that the surviving spouse would have to receive a check every month from the guy that killed their spouse. Or that they would have to continually take him to court if he didn't make timely payments. But at the same time, that could be much better than trying to struggle as a single parent.

Also, what happens when the father of a family is suddenly having to split their income and support two families. Will that not have an impact on their own children's lives.

This is a tricky thing to think about.

You're overthinking this. If the perp has insurance, assets and/or cash flow, you can sue him/her and call it whatever your like. I wouldn't be bothered with trying to get a monthly cash flow.

 

[reflechissez]

Again - we aren't talking about 'penalizing' the drunk driver, but a form of restitution.

But I agree - there should be some accounting for this disparity - and that's a question the legislature should address. My gut feeling is that the amount should be based on the family of the caregiver lost (recognizing that it can't be solely on income - as loss of a stay at home mom can also be very 'costly' for the family). They could even consider a formula 'charging' based on income, and payment to the family based on their support need, leveling out the income disparity of the 'offenders'. Lots for the legislature to consider.

Loss of future economic value is commonly used to sue people.

 

[reflechissez]

the family can sue for wrongful death, but not child support...unless its a parent who was responsible.

You don't have to call it child support.