For this Reflection Paper, read the synopsis below and respond to the questions that follow.
Imagine you are a district court judge, serving on the bench for 25 years. In your time on the bench the caliber of cases you heard ranged from petty theft to murder. You have four children, 2 boys and 2 girls; with one girl and one boy still in their teenage years attending one of the local high schools in your area. Today, a 30-year-old public school teacher is appearing before you for trial after being arrested and charged with 6 counts of 288 PC, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor (Lewd and lascivious acts refer to any actions that are indecent or of a sexual nature. These charges are commonly referred to as child molestation in the state of California). In order for a person to be found guilty of lewd and lascivious acts, the sexual contact must be intentional and willful. The teacher is charged with having sex with two male high school students, both of whom are 16 years old in the 11th grade. She’s been teaching for 5 years, 2 at this school, she’s been divorced for 3 years with no children. She is currently pregnant with said father being unknown at this time. The teacher has taken responsibility for her actions in that, she resigned from her teaching job, pled guilty, and have enrolled in a sexual offender program.
Factors to consider during sentencing:
Under PC 288 in California, a person convicted for this offense will be guilty of a felony and subject to up to 8 years in state prison. There are also circumstances under this Penal Code where a person could be eligible for probation, with or without a jail term involved. If the court determines that probation is not appropriate in this situation, a prison sentence of three, six, or eight years will be assigned based on mitigating factors (factors that help decrease the intensity of the crime) or aggravating factors (factors that can increase the intensity of the crime) laid out under California law. A court can also impose a fine of up to $10,000.
You also want to consider the following factors,
• The severity of the offense
• The offender’s prior criminal record
• Age of offender
• Characteristics of victims
After reading the synopsis and considering all other factors, respond to the following questions:
• What will be your sentence? Why, explain your reason for your sentence.
• What are the most important factors leading to your sentence?
• Is it important that you make an example of her so that other similar cases will not take place in nearby school districts?
Your paper should be between 3-4 pages, formatted in APA format and include at least one reference besides your textbook.
**Remember a well written paper will include the 5 major parts, a Title Page, the Introduction, the body / discussion, the conclusion, and a Reference Page.
