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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author in Part 1, Chapter 2, Carla James began lying to her parents at what age?

2. What word did Luis Santos use to mean “busted” in Part 1, Chapter 5?

3. Ronald Duncan was charged with double murder for killing whom, according to the narrator in “Intake”?

4. Judge Roosevelt Dorn opened his courtroom punctually at what time each day, according to the author in Part 1, Chapter 4?

5. What does “ACLU” stand for?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Luis Santos described by the author in Part 1, Chapter 6? What was Luis charged with?

2. For what crime was Carla James charged in Part 1, Chapter 2? How is Carla characterized by the author?

3. What were Peggy Beckstrand’s feelings about the Roland Duncan case, as described by the author in Part 1, Chapter 3?

4. What did Elias Elizondo tell Edward Humes about juvenile reform in “Intake”?

5. What led to Gerald Francis Gault’s arrest in 1964? What was Gault charged with?

6. According to the author in “Intake,” a LA social project was monitoring Richard Perez and others like him within the California Juvenile Justice system. What did these researchers conclude from the study?

7. How does the author describe George Trevino in Part 1, Chapter 6? How did George become a “300 kid”?

8. How does the author describe “status offenses” in Part 1, Chapter 2? What is Humes’s opinion of status offenses?

9. What led to Geri Vance’s entrance into “the system” in his youth? How did his prior record affect his chances in court in Part 1, Chapter 4?

10. How is Judge Roosevelt Dorn described in Part 1, Chapter 1? What was Beckstrand’s impression of Dorn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the time period that the book covers. What politicians were in office at this time? What were public feelings about the juvenile justice system in the United States? How has the juvenile justice system changed from the time in which the book was written to today?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the foster care system of Los Angeles. How many kids are in the foster system today? How many were in the system in 1994? What problems does the author point out about the system? What changes do you think should be made to the system?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author’s profile of Richard Perez in the Prologue. How old was Perez when he was apprehended? How does the author say the system failed Perez? How was Perez’s trial affected by the earlier Gault decision?

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