Questions to Consider Before Sentencing Joshua 1. Joshua has spent two weeks in jail awaiting sentencing. Should he spend any more time in jail? Or are there better ways to deal with his situation?

2. Since Joshua was 13, he has lived with his mother and her medical problems. He says she became a different person following her first surgery. She became quieter, less attentive to Joshua, and rarely left the house. Medication became a part of her daily life. Would more counseling help Joshua understand and accept his mother's condition? It hasn't helped in the past. What can the court do to help Joshua and his mother get at the root of their problems and get along?

3. Would you release Joshua to his mother? If so, what can you do to make sure they don't continue to fight?

4. Joshua wants to live with his older brother, who is on probation for drug use. Would you allow him to live there? Why?

5. Knowing Joshua's attitude toward school, what is the best way to make sure he goes back to school and stays there?

You Be the Judge

6. Based on the information available, what should Joshua's sentence be and why?

Your Response to the Judge's Decision

7. Are you surprised by the judge's sentence? Why or why not?

8. Was it harder or easier on Joshua than your sentence? In what ways?

9. What part of the judge's sentence do you agree with? What part do you disagree with? Why?

10. Were you surprised that Joshua got locked up in the first place for missing school? Did the court go too far, or was jail the only alternative?

11. What do you predict will happen to Joshua? Why?

Final Thoughts

12. What do you feel was the main cause of Joshua's problems? Could his problems have been handled in a different way by the court?

13. Joshua seemed to get his life together once he lived with his grandmother. Should the court have considered that option earlier?

14. Has a family member ever suffered from a serious illness? How did it affect your relationship with that person? How did it affect your relationship with your family as a whole? What was hardest about it?

15. Have you ever cut school or thought about dropping out? What makes school hard? Are you able to sometimes, think positively about school? What makes you have positive thoughts about school?