Story of Diane Tran, Jailed Texas Honors Student, Sparks Outrage

The controversial story of Diane Tran, a jailed Texas honors student, has sparked widespread outrage on the Internet.

Tran, a 17-year-old honors student at Willis High School, was sentenced to spent 24 hours in jail and pay $100 in fines for excessive truancy, according to CBS Atlanta.

Judge Lanny Moriarty, who sentenced her, said when Tran appeared in his court last month for truancy, he gave her a warning, reported KHOU.com. But when she continued to miss classes, he issued a summons and arrested her in open court.

Tran's case of truancy is unusual, however, because she's a highly-successful student who takes advanced placement and dual credit college level course, according to KHOU.com.

Moreover, she said her parents divorced and moved away from the city of Willis. She now works a full-time job and a part-time job to support an older brother who attends college and a younger sister who lives with relatives in Houston. She currently lives with the family of one of her employers.

The teenager claims she is often too exhausted to arrive at school on time and sometimes gets there after attendance had already been taken, according to KHOU.com.

"She goes from job to job from school. She stays up until 7 a.m. in the morning doing her homework," said a friend, reported CBS Atlanta.

Judge Moriarty, meanwhile, admitted that he wanted to make an example out of Tran.

"If you let one run loose, what are you gonna' do with the rest of 'em? Let them go too? A little stay in the jail for one night is not a death sentence," he said.

Tran's story struck a chord with many online communities.

Twitter was flooded with sympathy for Tran and criticism for Judge Moriarty.

"Yes, your 'honor', let's make an example out of the abandoned 17yo working 2 jobs for her sister while getting honors," tweeted @joestump.

"Lock up Diane Tran for being poor and trying to feed her family. Call it truancy. Call it 'an example.' Call it the law. Call it discipline," tweeted @SirJoshBennett.

A Change.org petition has been started on her behalf. Her story also became a widely-read thread on Reddit, a popular social content aggregator.

A comment on the Reddit thread states: "Now make an example of the judge: Students are not your political cannon fodder. These people are human beings and you can treat them with the respect they deserve or you can resign. There is a reason courts treat some cases on a case by case basis and what this judge did was undermine every single case that is given an exception."

Alan Smithee wrote:This asshole needs to be impeached, recalled, dragged off the bench with a log chain...whatever it takes.

Shale wrote:I only know of one other person named Moriarty. Obviously a relative of this asswipe.

Supernova wrote:I'd vote for hot tar, feathering, and then running him out of town on a rail.

Suzi wrote:I know the whole idea of welfare is repugnant to Americans, but if ever someone needed and deserved welfare it is this girl, she is too valuable to let her sit in jail with no help.

wants2laugh wrote:Well.. the law is the law. The kid needs to be in school a certain number of days per year, and if not in school enough days, she probably would be denied a diploma, REGARDLESS of he honors status and advance placement. she is enrolled in college as well as high school, and without a diploma, they may even deny her the college credits.

SO.... a girl went to court, was given a warning to STOP breaking the law of truancy and when she continued, then she gets consequences and people are outraged.

MY OUTRAGE is regarding the parents---- WHY were her parents NOT arrested and held responsible for abandonment of her and the younger child? WHY are the parents not being held accountable for child support? WHY was the kid charged to begin with??? if she is NOT a legally emancipated minor, then the parents should be responsible and held liable for the conswquences of their truant kid

And on top of that... do i even believe that this girl is working a full time and part time job while going to school??? in NJ there are very very strict laws regarding minors. they cannot work past a certain time of night, are not permitted to work over a certain number of hours per week, etc.

Supernova wrote:[However this is Texas and they probably do things differently there, and if a kid is old enough to legally drop out of school, does it really matter how many day they're coming to call the law on them?

wants2laugh wrote:

So once a kid reaches 16, it doesnt matter if they get a proper education or have enough credits to actually get a diploma? then why don't we just forget senior year all together and pass out the diplomas at 16?

Cheaps wrote:That's fucked up.

Why did the parent's leave like that, to where she now has to work 2 jobs and support her siblings? On top go to school? Her older brother is in college and she still has to support him? Her younger sister doesn't live in the same city and she has to support her?

CeCe wrote: the judge is still an asshole.

Cheaps wrote:

He truly is, why he felt the need to make an example of this poor girl, I don't know. I'm sure there are plenty of other kids that are far better examples.

Diane Tran, Texas Honor Student Jailed For Missing School, Has Contempt Order Vacated

Diane Tran, the Texas honor student who was jailed last week for missing too much school, will not have to worry about telling future employers or college admissions offices that she has a criminal history.

Lanny Moriarty, the judge who ordered the 17-year-old to go to jail after more than ten unexcused school absences, has set aside the contempt of court order he entered last week, according to Tran's lawyer, Brian Wice.

"She can now truthfully say that she doesn't have a criminal history," Wice told The Huffington Post by phone on Wednesday afternoon. He added that he's now going to find a lawyer to expunge the record.

Tran, a junior at Willis High School who takes AP and college level courses, works both full and part-time jobs to help support herself and two siblings, according to KHOU-11. She sometimes misses class because she's so tired from work.

"She goes from job to job from school," Devin Hill, one of Tran's classmates, told KHOU-11 last week. "She stays up until 7:00 in the morning doing her homework."

Her story resonated across the country and throughout the world. Nearly $100,000 in donations have come in from 49 states and 18 countries, according to HelpDianeTran.com, a site established in part by the Louisiana Children's Education Alliance (LCEA), a non-profit that focuses on education reform.

"We read the story and our hearts just broke thinking about what this girl had gone through," Charlie Davis, the president and founder of the LCEA, told HuffPost. "At same time we were infuriated that she'd become a victim of both the public education system and the judicial system, and we wanted to do something to help her, to show her some support."

Davis stressed that 100 percent of the money donated outside of the credit card processing fees will be donated to Tran, and said that he's hoping to give the money to the high school junior next week.

Meanwhile, 240,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org calling on the judge to "to cancel her fine and sentencing."

"I don't think anybody could have conceived of any script where this is the ultimate outcome in the third act," Wice, Tran's lawyer, told HuffPost. "The outcome of support has been, in a word, overwhelming. I know that Diane is beyond grateful."




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/diane-tran-texas-honor-student-jail-lanny-moriarty_n_1557175.html

Alan Smithee wrote:$100K in donations so far? Thanks CeCe. This is a good way to start my day.