Writing an Effective Character Letter for Court

Writing law articles is like writing an academic paper. You’ve got to put your information in a way that will impress the decision maker with your knowledge of the law, and your ability to apply it to the facts at hand. Including hyperlinks to other material is a good idea, provided those pieces of information are credible. You also need to be sure that the material you are linking to is relevant to the topic you are writing about, and credible. You need to have a certain amount of credibility to be taken seriously when you are drafting a law article, especially if you are representing a client. Writing a character letter for the court has more leeway in credibility than most law articles, but you still need to be sure to include some elements of what makes up a good character letter for the court.

First, you need to ask yourself, are you credible? What is your relationship to the person the letter is intended to assist? Is the person a family member? A friend? A schoolmate? A colleague? Someone you don’t even know? Credibility about your relationship with the person is key when a judge attempts to determine how complete the picture of the person and the circumstances surrounding them in their letter.

The make-up of an effective character letter for court includes certain core elements; who are you? Who are you to that person? What was the recent occasion that brought you to write this letter? What do you know about the person and their actions? What do you know about the likelihood of a repeat of the actions that brought this legal action on?

If the person is a family member, begin by mentioning your name, your relationship to the person, and their full name. Then, state the occasion that, for whatever reason, prompted you to write this letter. Next, provide some information about the circumstances of what the family member was accused of. You should provide any detail you have, but immediately be clear that you only know of what you have been told. Finally, provide the opinion that has been formed based on the investigation the person has done, and state that they have no background in forensic work. If you know anything about the person’s character, state the information that you know to be true, and then state that it is your opinion that the person does not have the characteristics that would make them a repeat offender. Wrap up by stating that you are happy to provide any further information, or to testify in court.

Research integrity is a key element to solid scientific research. A character letter for the court must also maintain integrity by being factual first and foremost. As well, the statement must have merit to it, meaning there is a good chance it is true and you are not puffing up the character of the person to gain favor with the judge or jury. The character letter must also address all aspects of the matter at hand. The letter as a whole must be written in a professional fashion, and be free of typos and other fundamental mistakes to be taken seriously.

Evidence based assertions are a key element in an academic paper. You need first to establish a credible foundation for the assertions you will make about the facts, and then link those assertions to evidence that supports them. In a character letter for the court, the elements of the letter, and where you saw things, and what you know will all lend themselves to provide evidence based assertions.

When writing a character letter, use words that you have come to trust. You will need to change the tone of your writing to suit the matter before the court, but writing about things that you understand should come easy.

When choosing to write a credentialed letter, avoid puffery by using facts that are verifiable. You need to prove that you are credible before the judge will believe what you are saying about someone else. Make sure that you know enough about the situation to write about it, and that your credentials lend themselves to the letter.

A criminal record can end your employment. A family lawyer can end your time with your children.