This year, the Honorable Lawrence “Larry” Thorne marks 50 years of service to the residents of the Jefferson County community where he was born and raised his family. Now, settled into a long-term position on the bench of the Drug Impact Court, Thorne shows no signs of quitting anytime soon. Although officially “retired,” Thorne rises and shines with rank-and-file county employees to oversee a docket heavily burdened with an array of defendants representing all ages, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds.
Born in Port Arthur at the behest of his mother, Thorne entered this world as the next in a line of Larry Thornes making a mark on the community from the courthouse. Thorne’s father, Lawrence Edward Thorne Jr., was a corporate lawyer who retired from Transcontinental Pipeline of Houston after 24 years of service. The elder Thorne is also remembered as a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Beaumont and veteran U.S. Army lieutenant who served during World War II. When he passed, Thorne’s father joined his wife, Martha Thorne, and son, Steven Moore Thorne.
In life, Thorne’s father left an indelible impression on his offspring, and a young Larry wasted no time following in the footsteps of the patriarch who instilled in his children a strong work ethic tempered with dedication to family and community. From Red Elementary to Johnston Middle and as a track athlete for Westbury High, Thorne’s self-proclaimed “skinny kid” days eventually led him to Trinity University as a college freshman and then on to the Texas Capitol where his father earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence.
Thorne earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, an immediately went on to receive his J.D. from the University of Houston School of Law in 1973.
In 1974, Thorne hired on as an Assistant District Attorney for Jefferson County, where he would spend the next five years forging relationships that would last a lifetime. It may not have been the best of times all the time, but Thorne recalls those days with a smile.
“Tom Hanna gave me my first job – like he did with a lot of lawyers who went on to become judges,” Thorne said.
In the “good old days,” Hanna gave a many up-and-coming attorneys their first opportunity to ply their trade. Hanna, a former Jefferson County District Attorney, also helped start the careers of future District Attorney and Judge Bob Wortham, future District Attorney Tom Maness, future Judge Gary Sanderson, and the late judges, Leonard Giblin and Larry Gist, whose courtroom Thorne now oversees. In the 1970s and 1980s, the group who would become the kings of the courtrooms were young jokesters and pranksters, Thorne recalls.
“We did have a lot of fun,” Thorne said, especially at “choir practice,” where the attorneys would drink spirits and ponder how best to save the world. “We worked hard but we enjoyed it.”
The next 20 years of private practice was fun, too, Thorne said, especially since he partnered with longtime friend Bruce Smith, someone he’s known since law school. In 1998, Thorne was ready to return to the courthouse; but, this time, it wouldn’t be to argue; it would be to settle arguments.
Elected Judge for the 317th District Court, the county’s family law court, Thorne embarked on a 24-year journey, full of ups and downs, gifted cookies and death threats. The job of being the decision-maker in family court wasn’t always easy – and Thorne served as the “bad guy” when having to make tough calls in bad breakups litigated in family court. Who gets the house, the boat, the 401K, the kids …
It was nothing personal on the judge’s side – but those ending up on the short end of the stick didn’t necessarily see it that way. At times, the job got very personal.
“Those could be stressful times,” Thorne said of living in the wake of threats made again him – and his family. “I got through it pretty good, but I was worried about my family.”
Sometimes, the threat was very credible.
“One of the guys is still around, and he’s kind of scary,” Thorne shared. The threat, posted to Facebook about “what happens to people who steal children,” even caught the attention of Department of Public Safety investigators. “They actually intervened on that one.”
In 2018, contention in court erupted to include threats made against the public servant in person. A 33-year-old woman was charged with making a terroristic threat, allegedly promising to shoot the judge that then presided over the county’s family court.
Tall talk is all it amounted to; Thorne survived decades as the family court judge with no real attempt made by any terrorist to make good on words muttered and written in anger. Thorne’s survival was less assured when he undertook a bout with prostate cancer – which is yet another real threat that failed to take out the longtime public servant.
Having survived angry parents and spouses on the losing end of a bass boat, as well as cancer, raising his own children and being the best husband he could to Margaret, Thorne was ready for retirement in 2022 at age 75.
By the time he retired from the family court bench in 2022, Thorne had handily presided over thousands of cases. Every year for over 20 years, since 2000, Thorne’s favorite day of work was whatever Friday the county celebrated Adoption Day.
In fact, Thorne brought Adoption Day to Jefferson County just one year after the first national event took place in 1999. Over the course of the 24 years that Adoption Day has been locally celebrated, more than 350 children have been enveloped into forever families thanks to Thorne and the merry band of courthouse staffers, attorneys and fellow judges that give of their time and talent to provide the services needed to cement adoption at no cost to the families.
Retirement was short-lived, however. It didn’t take long for the call of duty to come; and, of course, Thorne answered the phone.
“Two days into retirement,” Thorne joked of a conversation with Margaret, “She asked, ‘Why are you still here?’”
That week, Thorne returned to work. First, the retired judge was called to work with the Regional Administrative Judge for Chambers, Montgomery, Hardin, Jefferson and Orange counties. In April, Thorne was asked to man the bench for the local Drug Impact Court.
“It’s basically a full-time job,” Thorne explained of what was originally termed to be a part-time gig. On any given Monday, Thorne’s docket exceeds 50-plus defendants. He holds court the remainder of the week, as well. “I’ve enjoyed it.”
In many ways, adjudicating cases in the criminal drug court is much easier, Thorne shared – at least as much as “easy” exists in the criminal court system.
“They already know what they did,” Thorne said of the defendants that now appear before his court. Most are caught with drugs on their person, test positive for drug use or confessed to drug use or possession. There is no perceived “winner” or “loser,” and the judge can handle the case in the best interest of the defendant and the community with little-to-no hard feelings from those presented before the bench.
Still, the empathy, compassion and hope for a better future that guided Thorne’s decisions in family court are traits the judge even now finds beneficial for the community he serves. Decades spent guiding families through the toughest part of separation prepared the judge for the special purpose court where he makes rulings with unparalleled understanding of the humanness behind the docket call.
“The Drug Impact Court is set up to help people,” Thorne said, adding that’s what he hopes to do. “In these cases, you can make a real difference – for them, for their families, their children.”
When he can, Thorne works with defendants to get treatment rather than incarceration. Even habitual defendants can get a reprieve in Drug Impact Court.
“A number of them have been successful,” the judge beamed with pride, his face falling some when he disclosed the success rate is, unfortunately, less than 100%. “Some of them don’t make it – but at least we’ve given them the chance.”
When he’s not on the bench, Thorne has been a Little League, Senior League and Little Dribblers basketball coach; an active member of Wesley United Methodist Church; a regular speaker at Southeast Texas schools from elementary to high school on family matters; and the titular character in the popular “Ask the Judge” segment routinely featured on local news. Thorne has served on local, state and national councils and boards, most drawing on his expertise in law, child welfare and pro bono work.
“It really has been an honor to be involved and be of service,” Thorne said.