Citing truancy Judge Moriarty ordered 17 year-old 11th grade honors student Diane Tran to serve a 24 hour jail sentence and pay a $100 fine. However the causes for for Tran's missing of classes include working a full-time job, a part-time job and taking advanced placement and dual credit college level courses to support an older brother who attends Texas A&M University and a younger sister who lives with relatives in Houston after both her parents left after getting divorced. She currently lives with the family of one of her employers. In defending his decision, Judge Moriatry stated, "If you let one run loose, what are you gonna' do with the rest of 'em?," said Judge Lanny Moriarty. "Let them go too? A little stay in the jail for one night is not a death sentence." While certainly not tantamount to capital punishment, if nothing is done to revoke the decision, this would stay on her permanent record and be a further impediment towards her future.
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