

Employers can include information about your reliability, ability to work with others, and dedication. Make sure to also ask for letters outside of your family. Family reference letters are perfectly fine. Family members are obviously going to be a little more biased, but they’re also going to be a lot more personal. You can get letters from everyone and anyone. Your lawyer can have the letter translated to submit an English version to court. Letters do not have to be written in English. If the letter is coming from a business, it is OK if the letter is on that business’ letterhead. The letters should not include personal information like address and phone number. The letters do not have to be long or complicated but should be genuine. Depending upon the kind of case it is, you may want them to focus more on either your honesty or your reliability or your kind-heartedness. Each letter should reflect the personal voice of the person writing it.Īsk people to write you a letter that states how they know you, how long they’ve known you, and what their thoughts are about you. The judge will notice if the wording is the same or if they are all written on the same paper, letterhead, and font. You do not want your character letters to look like a form letter all written by the same person. People ask all the time, “Is there a form that I can use as a template or as something to copy to write a character letter?” The answer is no. What Does an Effective Character Letter Say? The content of the letters can affect how you are viewed and may impact your sentence. This is a tool that we can use to get the prosecutor and the judge and the probation office to really understand who you are as a person, to humanize you so you’re not just another file on their desk. Why Are Character Letters Important?Ĭharacter letters are a very important part of the process of a criminal case, especially in federal court.

#Character witness letter court professional
One of these important tools is a character letter.Īt the Law Office of Diane Bass, A Professional Law Corporation, we have extensive history defending clients in both local criminal court and federal criminal court. While some former defendants may feel powerless at this point, there are steps they can take to improve their standing before the court.

After being convicted or pleading guilty to a criminal offense, the post-conviction phase begins.
