HOUSTON—A judge threw a 17-year-old 11th grade honor student from Willis High School in jail after she missed school again.
Judge Lanny Moriarty said last month Diane Tran was in his Justice of the Peace court for truancy and he warned her then to stop missing school. But she recently missed classes again so Wednesday he issued a summons and had her arrested in open court when she appeared.
Tran said she works a full-time job, a part-time job and takes advanced placement and dual credit college level courses. She said she is often too exhausted to wake up in time for school. Sometimes she misses the entire day, she said. Sometimes she arrives after attendance has been taken.
The judge ordered Tran to spend 24 hours in jail and pay a $100 fine. Judge Moriarty admitted that he wants to make an example of Tran.
“If you let one (truant student) run loose, what are you gonna’ do with the rest of ‘em? Let them go too?” Judge Moriarty asked.
Tran said she is working so hard because she is helping to support an older brother who attends Texas A&M University and a baby sister who lives with relatives in Houston. Tran said her parents divorced “out of the blue” and both moved away, leaving her in Willis. Her mother lives in Georgia, she said.
“I always thought our family was happy,” the teen said tearfully.
Tran lives with the family of one of her employers. They own a wedding venue. She works at the Vineyard of Waverly Manor on weekends and at a dry cleaners full time.
“She goes from job to job, from school she stays up ‘til 7 o’clock in the morning,” said her friend, co-worker and classmate Devin Hill.
There's also a video at the source
Credit goes to
layweed for sharing the article.
Judge Lanny Moriarty said last month Diane Tran was in his Justice of the Peace court for truancy and he warned her then to stop missing school. But she recently missed classes again so Wednesday he issued a summons and had her arrested in open court when she appeared.
Tran said she works a full-time job, a part-time job and takes advanced placement and dual credit college level courses. She said she is often too exhausted to wake up in time for school. Sometimes she misses the entire day, she said. Sometimes she arrives after attendance has been taken.
The judge ordered Tran to spend 24 hours in jail and pay a $100 fine. Judge Moriarty admitted that he wants to make an example of Tran.
“If you let one (truant student) run loose, what are you gonna’ do with the rest of ‘em? Let them go too?” Judge Moriarty asked.
Tran said she is working so hard because she is helping to support an older brother who attends Texas A&M University and a baby sister who lives with relatives in Houston. Tran said her parents divorced “out of the blue” and both moved away, leaving her in Willis. Her mother lives in Georgia, she said.
“I always thought our family was happy,” the teen said tearfully.
Tran lives with the family of one of her employers. They own a wedding venue. She works at the Vineyard of Waverly Manor on weekends and at a dry cleaners full time.
“She goes from job to job, from school she stays up ‘til 7 o’clock in the morning,” said her friend, co-worker and classmate Devin Hill.
There's also a video at the source
Credit goes to
layweed for sharing the article.
Shouldn't they throw the parents in jail for abandoning a minor?
Is there any sort of donation thing we can do to help Tran out? And where's the end of the line to give this judge a swift kick to the ass? The only example he made of was how much of an asshole he is.
And finally, WTF WHY AREN'T THE PARENTS BEING CHARGED FOR ABANDONING THEIR KIDS?
But the judge just wanted to make an example out of her.
Why aren't they going after her parents and why isn't her brother helping out?
Edited at 2012-05-26 05:18 am (UTC)
Instead of throwing this girl into jail, why isn't that judge ordering her parents to come back to Texas and take care of their damn kids?
It also says that her employer is trying to set up a fund for her at the local bank. Hopefully, they'll get the word out when they do.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/People-a
But seriously, mirroring everyone's comments with "Why haven't her parents been charged with negligence?" This story is all sorts of fucked up.
This has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard come from a judge's mouth.
This girl is extraordinary! If she's Vietnamese, do ONTD_P'ers in Texas think that's an issue? Google sez Houston is only 6% Asian (1.7% Vietnamese) so maybe not.
I signed the petition. What the fuck kind of judge does that? I mean just for the very sake of his own reputation, you'd think show he actually understood the facts of the case and not have girl arrested. Why the hell haven't parents been charged with neglect, and why is her brother leaning on his little sister for support? This whole thing is a giant disgusting clusterfuck, I hope the judge loses his seat, and her parents get dragged into court for child neglect and abandonment.
But really now Judge Moriarty (am I the only one getting lulz off his name?), it's only some kids skipping school, tackle some real crime, damn.
That being said, I'm in the same boat as you with why he decided to make an example of Tran. Just...no. There are other much more important issues going on in her life right now that could use some solving, and spending 24 hours in jail with a fine isn't going to fix anything. She'll still wind up missing school.
EDIT: Typo + I found it.
Edited at 2012-05-26 08:22 am (UTC)
JAIL SHOULD NOT BE THE FIRST GO-TO OPTION, YOU DUMB SHITHEEL.
I know other people that can only miss 10 days a year etc, in which case I would have flopped out by late October every damn year. My university allows professors to set their own attendance requirements but the base university policy is that you auto-flunk if you miss the equivalent of one month of classes.
you can get a record for missing classes in the US?
...I mean why
how is that even something the judicial system should have anything to do with in the first place