Back in the late 1980s, Randy Travis was the undisputed king of country music. His smooth baritone wrapped around a clean and contemporary country sound that had its roots in the genre’s time-honored traditions. That was then and this is now: the country music legend recently had his request to block Texas from releasing video of his 2012 DWI arrest rejected.
A U.S. District Court Judge allowed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to release the arrest video in which an impaired and naked Travis is in the middle of a road. However, the video has apparently been edited so that it does not show Travis from the waist down.
The federal court’s decision is the latest in a string of judicial rulings to allow the release of the video. Travis has repeatedly tried to prevent the tape from becoming public. His attorneys recently argued that release of the tape would violate medical privacy protections.
The judge was not moved by the argument, writing that “Travis has failed to establish a substantial likelihood of success on the merits for his claims.”
Several news organizations requested the tape’s release after Travis’s summer of 2012 arrest in Tigoa, a small town about an hour north of Dallas and about 11 hours north of Edinburg.
According to the responding troopers, the singer of hits such as “Forever and Ever Amen” and “Digging Up Bones” was disoriented, intoxicated and unaware that he was naked.
The singer and his attorneys at that time negotiated a plea agreement in which he was sentenced to two years of probation, a $2,000 fine, required to complete 100 hours of community service and to get treatment at an alcohol rehabilitation facility.
Punishment in Texas for a DWI can be harsh. With the help of a criminal defense attorney experienced in protecting freedom, driving privileges and rights, you can effectively and vigorously fight for justice.