James Grippando - Leapholes

Grippando, James

Leapholes (2006)

Discussion Questions for Leapholes

1. What is "legal precedent?" Should something that happened to real people a long time ago have any impact on how we decide what is right or wrong in today's society? Why or why not?

2. In Leapholes, Legal Evil lives "where the brood follows the dam." That doctrine was created in ancient times to determine ownership rights over animals, such as horses or cattle. If someone owned the mother (the "dam"), they also owned her offspring (the "brood"). In 1842, the U. S. Supreme Court extended that doctrine to human beings. The Court decided that any child born to a slave was also a slave, even if the child was born in a state where slavery was illegal. Was this a proper use of legal precedent? Why or why not?

3. Hezekiah warns that Legal Evil is alive and well today. Can you think of any modern-day examples of Legal Evil at work? Does everyone in today's society have equal rights under the law?

4. Helping others through personal sacrifice is a recurring theme throughout Leapholes. When six people are infected with a deadly virus, Ryan refuses to cast lots and insists, that the five vaccines be stretched into six. Hezekiah rides straight into the slave catchers so that they will not capture Hannah and her baby. Ryan's father pleads guilty to stealing the emerald so that Ryan's mother will not be charged with a crime. Who made the bravest sacrifice? Please explain your answer.

5. Ryan's father is in prison because he pleaded guilty to a crime. He tells Ryan, however, that he is innocent. Can you think of any reasons why a person might plead guilty to a crime that he did not commit? Have you ever confessed to something you did not do in order to protect someone else? Can people be forced into a confession? What makes a confession reliable? How can we decide if a confession is reliable?

6. In the real life case about the sinking of a ship called The William Brown, a badly overloaded lifeboat was taking on seawater. Several crewmen began throwing passengers overboard so that the lifeboat would not sink. When the survivors made it to shore, one of the crewmen was put on trial for manslaughter. The judge condemned the crewman's actions. In his opinion, the passengers should have cast lots to determine who should live and who should die. Was the judge right? What would you have done if you had been on that sinking lifeboat?

7. Hezekiah, the greatest Legal Eagle of all, chose Ryan over Jarvis to become the next Legal Eagle. What character traits did Ryan possess that made it possible for him to become a Legal Eagle? What character traits did Jarvis possess that made it impossible for him to become a Legal Eagle?