# RO: Judge Lanny Moriarty is an idiot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 31, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635 "2012-05-31T07:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/1 "2012-05-31T07:22:30Z")
Diane Tran is a seventeen year old high school student in the Houston area. She’s taking advanced courses and she’s an honor student. She also works two jobs because she’s supporting her two siblings. So she occasionally misses some days at school. According to Texas law, the school district has to send students to juvenile court after a certain number of absences. But there’s no fixed policy on how the judges handles the case. They can give out whatever they think is appropriate. And what did Judge Lanny Moriarity think was appropriate? Jail. He sent Tran to jail. Only for one night but he also fined her a hundred dollars. As Moriarity explained, _“If you let one of them run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them?”_ That’s right, Judge, this girl obviously needed to be taught a lesson in responsibility. Turns out however, that some people thought it was the judge who needed a learning experience. Within a few days, the judge was handed a petition signed by a quarter million people that raised the important legal question of _“What the fuck were you thinking?”_ In light of this, Moriarity has reconsidered and has set aside his decision. [cite](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/diane-tran-texas-honor-student-jail-lanny-moriarty_n_1557175.html?1338412606&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D165618) ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/2 "2012-05-31T13:05:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And what did Judge Lanny Moriarity think was appropriate? Jail. He sent Tran to jail. Only for one night but he also fined her a hundred dollars. As Moriarity explained, _“If you let one of them run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them?”_ What a fucking idiot. Yes, what is she going to do, I don’t know maybe go to work? The people who should be in jail are the parents, the story said they were divorced, I figured at first they were dead. Those are the people who shouldn’t be running loose. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/3 "2012-05-31T13:29:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And what did Judge Lanny Moriarity think was appropriate? Jail. He sent Tran to jail. Only for one night but he also fined her a hundred dollars. As Moriarity explained, _“If you let one of **them** run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of **them**?”_ What the hell does he mean by “them?” At any rate, looks like he may have ended up helping her. People have donated over $100,000.00 to her. That’s pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/4 "2012-05-31T13:34:23Z")
Now judge Moriarty’s name will live in infamy. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/5 "2012-05-31T13:53:11Z")
> [@](#): > > [snip]…Nearly $100,000 in donations have come in from 49 states…[/snip] OK, which state hasn’t anted up? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/6 "2012-05-31T13:54:10Z")
Texas, probably. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/7 "2012-05-31T13:56:34Z")
“His Honor’s” slogan" > [@](#): > > Contempt of court must be earned, Judge Moriarty is the one to do it! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/8 "2012-05-31T17:20:08Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > The people who should be in jail are the parents, the story said they were divorced, I figured at first they were dead. Those are the people who shouldn’t be running loose. According to one report I read, the parents got divorced and left the area, abandoning their three children. So whatever sense of responsibility Tran has, it obviously isn’t genetic in origin. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/9 "2012-05-31T17:54:00Z")
My wishes are nothing but the best for this girl. She is an exemplary person. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/10 "2012-05-31T17:59:20Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > What the hell does he mean by “them?” Truants, I would think. eta: This post is not an endorsement of crazy ass judge. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/11 "2012-05-31T18:13:51Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > At any rate, looks like he may have ended up helping her. People have donated over $100,000.00 to her. That’s pretty cool. Apparently [she has refused the money](http://abcnews.go.com/US/community-aid-jailed-texas-honor-student/story?id=16464091) because “There’s some other kid out there struggling more than me”, she said. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/12 "2012-05-31T18:19:09Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Apparently [she has refused the money](http://abcnews.go.com/US/community-aid-jailed-texas-honor-student/story?id=16464091) because “There’s some other kid out there struggling more than me”, she said. Okay, I changed my mind. Throw the fucking book at her. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/13 "2012-05-31T18:21:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > According to one report I read, the parents got divorced and left the area, abandoning their three children. According to a report that I read, the mother split but the father is still around, just working crazy hours. ---
**Author:** ![GaryNTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@GaryNTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryNTx)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/14 "2012-05-31T20:52:29Z")
This is living proof that we in Texas elect the most stupid people to positions of power. This moron would make Vanna White look like a candidate for MENSA and is living proof that republican redneck bigots like Moriarty should not be allowed beyond The Kroger Shopper Center in Willis without a primary care-giver. Let them all run loose? I hope you read this Moriarty the Moron, and ask yourself if your own inbred offspring were as academically and financially responsible as the young person whose life you damned near ruined. If people were put on trial for blatant stupidity combined with insensitivity and intolerance you would be serving 3 life sentences without the possibility of parole. Maybe you could become a jail-house lawyer and finally learn something about reading the law. Unfortunately, you Moron, you can’t fix stupid. You need to resign or at least have the good taste not to run again. What an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/15 "2012-05-31T21:40:31Z")
Why did the school report her for truancy anyway? I mean, if they don’t report it, it doesn’t get seen by the courts. (at least in our state) Why didn’t her school counselor talk to her and try to work out some kind of alternative? She’s hardly one of “those” kids. Of course, that doesn’t absolve Moriarty of being an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/16 "2012-05-31T21:45:03Z")
You **don’t** mess with attendance records. They are the way the state determines your funding: Average Daily Attendance. It seems to me that if her father had bothered to call in and excuse a few of those absences, things wouldn’t have come to a head like this. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/17 "2012-05-31T21:46:35Z")
I love my state. But sometimes, the folks we elect to public office make me want to boil up some tar, pluck some chickens and go to town on them. ---
**Author:** ![GaryNTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@GaryNTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryNTx)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/18 "2012-05-31T22:22:32Z")
Here’s a direct quote from Moriarty taken off of his website: “As a people’s court, many of the cases are rather informal in nature and can be handled as such,” said Judge Moriarty. “I try to be open and honest with an attitude that says I care.” With a successful tenure in law enforcement including 21 years with the Houston Police Department and 10 years with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Judge Moriarty reminds himself daily, “I am a human first and a law enforcer second.” “Since the day I decided to run for office, I have always believed in helping my fellow citizens through the law and common decency,” Moriarty said. “Putting in a full day as a JP requires a mental focus that rivals a lot of the physical exhaustion that I have experienced in other work.” With rising court costs and more complex cases, local judges are facing more trouble in the court room. “Our society is getting more litigious, turning the people’s court into the lawyers’ court,” Moriarty said. I wonder if Diane Tran had been a blonde-haired cheerleader from Willis High School whose republican voting parents attended Willis First Baptist Church along with Moriarty if she would have been treated with the same bigot-motivated, calloused indifference and insensitivity? Clearly, this moron has had more than his 15 minutes of fame. It’s time for him along with the tambourine he uses instead of a gavel to step off the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/19 "2012-05-31T23:00:45Z")
> [@Lilacs](#): > > Why did the school report her for truancy anyway? I mean, if they don’t report it, it doesn’t get seen by the courts. (at least in our state) From what I’ve read, there’s a law in Texas which requires schools to report all truancy cases above a certain level. I wouldn’t want any schools to get involved in covering things up - that’s a practice that’s sure to lead to problems. I won’t even argue that this is necessarily a bad law - there was apparently nothing in the law that mandated Tran be punished. All the law required was that her situation be brought to a judge’s attention. The problem here seems to be a judge who doesn’t understand that a large part of his job is to use his brain. He’s supposed to look at a case and make decisions not just treat every case the same. If the people just wanted a rubber stamp, there’d be no need for judges. Or in summation, what I said in the thread title: Judge Lanny Moriarty is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635/20 "2012-05-31T23:21:46Z")
I thought you only had to attend school until you were 16 years of age. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-judge-lanny-moriarty-is-an-idiot/623635.md?page=2)