Attorneys want Ethan Couch released from jail

Lawyers for the affluenza teen Ethan Couch are asking that he be released from the Tarrant County jail.

Couch’s attorneys claim his case belongs in the civil court and not the adult criminal court. They will file a motion to have him released.

Couch’s attorneys aren't talking because of a gag order. However, a court document they filed against Judge Wayne Salvant said “this court has no authority to act whatsoever and any orders… in this matter are null and void."

It would include Salvant's nearly two-year jail sentence for Couch after he killed four people in a drunken-driving crash when he was 16.

Attorney Alex Kim is not associated with the case. He says if Couch's attorneys were to win.

"All this means is this case goes to a different court with a different judge,” he said. “And the judge gets to re-hear everything and determine whether or not Ethan Couch is out on bond, what his conditions are, how much bond is set for does he sit in jail, starts over from the point he was transferred to an adult court."

Couch's attorneys say because his case originated in juvenile court, it's always been a civil case, even after it was transferred to the adult court system.

The motion states Couch’s case "is a civil action, not a criminal case," pointing out that Judge Salvant's court can only hear criminal cases.

“In theory, it means he doesn't have to sit in jail,” Kim explained. “Not to say once this case is transferred that the next judge doesn't do the exact same thing."

Ethan Couch has been in jail since he and his mother, Tonya Couch were arrested last December after fleeing to Mexico while he was on juvenile probation.

Kim says Ethan Couch's attorneys are going for a better outcome for their client. However, what that might be isn't clear.