onor Student Jailed for Missing School: Ask the judge to cancel her fi

[other one]

Neb, we don't let minors live in that situation in this country. You all seem to think it's just OK for a house full of minors to carry on by themselves.... even at the expense of the legal system.

Not saying that . . . just questioning what benefit a night in jail and $100 fine is going to serve.

this may well be in her best interests, and I think the court has a much better view of the situation than we after reading a news story.

True, the media has an iffy accuracy history.

However, there are bad judges out there. I have some friends that were victims of such a one.

There are things within my own family that I really can't discuss here that ended up in both estremes...... good and bad endings. but whatever the case, there is never........ "NEVER" an excuse for breaking the law.

The girl may well have sacrificed her whole future if she continued her path. Do you really think she should have sacrificed her education..... for what...... not wanting to let authorities know that minors were living alone...

Do we know where they were living..... do we know if they were even safe..... we're making decisions about something that we know nearly nothing about.

True, there are unknowns. But again, how is the punishment going to fix any of these problems? Will they moved to a safer place to lived? Who will take care of the younger minor siblings while she is in jail? Are efforts being made for them to be brought under adult care?

All things that we don't have a clue as to what's happening.

What they are asking us to do is to bombard this judge which will affect his ability to do his job.... with emotional information, and it seldom works out that what we hear on facebook is reality.

[The_Patriot21]

I say shame on texas. Yes-shes missing school, and yes she may be breaking the law-but what choice does she have. hmmm, let her and her siblings starve to death on the streets, but hey shes getting good grades, or take care of her family and try to finish school at the same time. Its her parents that should be hunted down and thrown in jail. and other one, you got a point-it may not be ok for minors to be living alone-but its not the girls fault, she was doing her best to make the best out of a bad situation. She should be given the medal, for doing her parents job for them the ones responsible for leaving her to take care of her to younger siblings are to blame-not her. This is just yet another failing of our justice system-instead of helping the innocent, theyre punishing them and letting the guilty go free.

[Sevenseas]

I think the punishment is missing the mark here. I saw this story on the news and it actually does seem to be credible.

Where I live, you can quit school when you are 16...I know the teenager in question, Diane Tran does not want to, but

I am wondering if it is different in TX? Is finishing high school obligatory? If it is not, and the legal age to quit is 16,

then ??? Also, if she is working and being responsible, how is she truant???

The Judge in Diane's case said he was making an example of her with this severe punishment.

I am puzzled. Surely there is a genuine case of truancy if one wants to make an example.

Perhaps the teenager is ashamed and wants to hide a disgraceful situation...some cultures are very opposed to making family

business public...unlike the US where it seems to be very unexceptional. Many families living in the US still practice their

own heritage and do not always conform to or understand American culture

Just thinking out loud.......

[AnotherSinner]

Know this news is going to disappoint some who feel that somehow this young lady deserved this, but:

Honor student jailed for missing school cleared of charges

After a judge in Texas sentenced a 17-year-old girl to a night in jail for missing school, critics across the country responded by condemning the court’s decision. A week later, Judge Lanny Moriarty changed his stance.

After paying a $100 fine and serving a 24-hour stint behind bars for an unexcused absence from Willis High School in Houston, Texas, Judge Lanny Moriarty dropped

charges against the teenager. Tran, a straight-A honor student enrolled in college-credit classes, missed class because juggling two jobs in addition to her course load became too burdensome at times.

"If you let one run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them? Let them go, too?" Moriarty asked local KHOU 11 News last week.

In Texas, state law mandates that repeat offenders of a stringent school attendance policy can be penalized for truancy. Specifically, the state can put its foot down after a student claims 10 unexcused absences in a six-month space. In the case of Tran, she was often unable to attend school because long-hours on the clock to make money to support her siblings often made it difficult to get to school, even if it meant staying up to 7 a.m. studying.

“I can understand if a child is staying out of school, running around, a bad kid, getting into trouble, taking drugs,"Tran’s boss, Mary Elliot, told ABC News after her sentencing. "I can understand why he would slap them into jail for 24 hours. But Diane doesn't do that. All she does is work and go to school."

“She's a straight-A student," Elliot added. "She keeps her grades up, but sometimes she oversleeps, because she's been working."

Luckily for Tran, an outpour of support came through after people just like Mary Elliott extended apologizes over Judge Moriarty’s ruling. Now not only has the judge been driven to clearing the student’s criminal record, but a petition established online to garner support for Tran brought in $100,000 in only days. Administrators at HelpDianeTran.com say that people from 50 states and 19 countries offered money to supports students such as Tran.

On Thursday, Tran tells the Houston Chronicle that she cannot possibly accept the donation.

“There's some other kid out there struggling more than me,” says the teen.

No matter where the money goes, the best news for Tran this week is that the bogus charged brought on my Judge Moriarty will soon be removed from her record and she will be officially exonerated from the incident.

"She can now truthfully say that she doesn't have a criminal history," her attorney, Brice Wice, tells the Huffington Post.

Read in this or another issue of this same story that her father visits her on weekends... made the story all the more disgusting. With her being a minor why is he not supporting his teen age daughter or other kids? Where is her mother? Why did this child get a night in jail or a $100 fine in the first place for being mom and dad as well as working hard as a student?

Here is the link to the article.

http://rt.com/usa/news/judge-student-school-tran-720/

Do not have anything more to offer here.... just thought I would share the update. I do not regret signing the petition.

[The_Patriot21]

Good, finally common sense won through.

[just_abc]

deleted by poster

Edited June 6, 2012 by just_abc