Judge’s unique sentence: Woman told to write about being a lady

When is a lady not a lady?

When she’s drunk and disorderly in public.

To Judge Brenda Branch in Halifax County, N.C., the drunk and disruptive antics that brought 21-year-old Tonie Marie King to her courtroom recently certainly weren’t ladylike. Branch spoke to King about proper deportment, then imposed a unique sentence:

Write a two-page essay titled “How a Lady Should Behave in Public.�

“Some people need pure punishment,� Branch said in an interview Wednesday. “Others just need a little redirecting.�

She added: “We don’t have a whole lot of resources out here, so I try to be creative.�

King had pleaded guilty to being drunk and disruptive — and resisting a police officer — outside a convenience store. Police said she stole beer from the store Feb. 3, then struggled with and kicked an arresting officer.

As a magistrate’s order put it, King “did shout at and rudely insult others.�

Branch, who is known for working with young offenders, sentenced King to 45 days in jail, suspended in lieu of a one-year supervised probation in which she must not possess or drink alcohol.

“She seemed articulate — I could tell she knew what she’d done wrong,� Branch said. “I don’t think she’d ever been taught or challenged to think differently.�

Branch said she’d imposed similar essay sentences in the past on youthful offenders with no serious criminal records. She calls them “my kids.� Several wrote impressive papers, which she keeps on file in her office.

King had no serious criminal record, Branch said, so she believed the young woman could be “redirected,� as the judge put it. “If we can nip this kind of behavior now, maybe she can get ahold of herself and not go out drinking and fussing and fighting again.�

“I’m not expecting a college English paper,� she said. “I just want her to think about what she did and how she can change.�

Branch said she identifies with young offenders from working-class or blue-collar backgrounds in her largely rural county in northeastern North Carolina. She worked 20 years as a paper mill mechanic, wearing a hard hat and steel-toed boots, before earning undergraduate and law degrees in night school.

Asked how a lady should behave in public, Branch repeated what she told King in court:

“You don’t go out drinking and fighting and yelling,� she said. “You dress well. You speak well. You show people respect, and you’ll earn respect. “

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