A character recommendation letter is a letter written by someone else that attests to your good character. These are commonly used during a sentencing hearing after a criminal conviction.
Five things to know about character letters are:
- quality is better than quantity,
- it matters who writes them,
- the person writing them may get contacted,
- good ones may reduce your sentence, and
- effective ones stay on topic.
They can also be used as a part of a job application. This article, however, focuses mainly on their role after a criminal conviction.
1. Quality is better than quantity
When getting character recommendation letters for a sentencing hearing, quality is more important than quantity. Numerous generic, poorly-written, or off-topic letters will probably not work as well as one good one. In fact, when they receive lots of letters, judges are more likely to ignore them.
Some writing tips for crafting a good character recommendation or reference letter are to:
- use a professional tone and formatting,
- make yourself available for follow-up by providing contact information, such as your phone number,
- establish your credibility, both by making it clear that you know the defendant and that your opinion of him or her should be trusted,
- humanize the defendant,
- use concrete details and specific examples that tell about when the defendant proved his or her good character,
- focus on the defendant’s good character and his or her role in the community, explaining what will be lost if they receive a harsh sentence, and
- explicitly request the court to mitigate the defendant’s sentence in an informed and reasonable way.
2. The writer’s background matters
The background of the person writing the character reference letter can be its most persuasive element. Sentencing judges are far more likely to be persuaded by letters written by people of repute.
Most character recommendation letters are written by the defendant’s:
- close friends or family friends,
- family members, or
- coworkers.
These people can write good character recommendation letters. However, their close personal or familial ties can undermine their persuasiveness. Someone who knows you well is more likely to be seen as an unreliable source for a personal reference letter.
If possible, defendants should try to get a personal letter of reference from:
- their boss,
- someone respected within the community, like a community leader or religious leader,
- a teacher, or
- someone else that is looked up to and who knows the defendant personally.
The words of people like this are more likely to carry more weight in the sentencing hearing.
3. The writer is likely to get contacted
The person writing the character recommendation letter is likely to get contacted by the court. Judges need to make sure that the letters they receive a legitimate. Their clerks are almost guaranteed to follow up with the writer of the letter. They will reach out using the contact information provided.
Defendants need to remember this. If you write a character recommendation letter for yourself under someone else’s name you will likely get found out. This type of dishonesty will increase the sentence.
For recommendation letter writers, it is important to be ready to receive this outreach. Screening your calls may block the court’s follow-up attempt. This can hurt the defendant’s odds of reducing their sentence.
4. They can persuade a judge to reduce your sentence
Character recommendation letters are not meaningless. In many cases, they can successfully convince the judge to reduce your sentence.
For defendants, this means that it is worthwhile to:
- ask people to write a character reference letter,
- reach out to acquaintances that might write a powerful one,
- follow up with letter writers as the sentencing hearing approaches, and
- send them a thank you note for their efforts, no matter what the outcome was.
These letters can be responsible for taking months or even years off of a jail sentence. Going through the process is worth your time.
For letter writers, this means they should:
- take the time to write a strong letter,
- research how to write an effective one,
- format it professionally,
- proofread it, and
- if you are unsure that it is a good letter, ask someone else to review it.
Taking the project seriously can be a huge help to the defendant.
5. They should stay on topic
Good recommendation letters stay on topic. They urge the sentencing judge to impose a lighter sentence because of the defendant’s good character. They do not:
- argue that the defendant was innocent,
- claim that the trial was a sham,
- say that the defendant was wrongfully convicted,
- attacking the prosecutor or law enforcement, or
- accuse the criminal justice system of being out to get the defendant.
Going down any of these paths can undermine the persuasiveness of the letter.
Instead, writers should:
- explain how they know the defendant,
- make it clear that the writer’s opinion of the defendant should be taken seriously,
- tell how the defendant has good character traits, and
- ask the judge to consider a lighter sentence.
What does a sample character reference letter of recommendation look like?
Each character recommendation letter is unique. Every one is written by a unique person and will concern a different defendant. However, they should generally look like the character reference letter sample below.
Alex Smith
1234 Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 56789
(888) 888-8888
January 1, 2023
To the Honorable Judge Davis:
My name is Alex Smith. I am the shift and hiring manager at The Restaurant. Harper Williams has been one of my employees for three years now. I am writing to let you know that Harper is a reliable, trustworthy, and kind person whose upbeat presence at work is something that we all appreciate and enjoy.
Since Harper started working for me, I have given him more and more responsibilities and he has performed admirably. He regularly works the cash register and I have never doubted that he was trustworthy enough in that role. His coworkers also often turn to him when they want to trade shifts, knowing that he will hold up his end of the trade.
I am also aware that Harper was an exceptional student in high school. He has always struck me as intelligent and eager to work hard.
I was surprised to hear that Harper had been found guilty of shoplifting. It went against everything that I know about him. I am confident that Harper was put in an unfortunate situation, that he regrets his conduct, and that he will not do it again. Given his good character, I do not think that imposing a jail sentence is necessary. I am sure that he has learned his lesson already and that probation will be enough.
I hope that this character reference letter will persuade you to impose probation rather than a jail sentence.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
Alex Smith
A few things to note about this character reference letter template are:
- by addressing the salutation to the judge by name, rather than “to whom it may concern,” it shows that you spent the time to find out who was presiding over the case,
- it provides a phone number for the court to contact if there are any further questions, and
- it comes from someone with responsibility and who is familiar with the person’s character.
When are character reference letters generally used?
Character references are used in court in a variety of circumstances. Some of the most common are:
- during criminal sentencing hearings,
- during trials where the character of a party or a witness is at issue, and
- for child custody hearings.
They are also common as a part of a job application. When used as a job reference or a professional reference, this type of letter should focus on the applicant’s positive qualities that would make him or her a valuable asset in the workplace, such as their:
- work ethic,
- communication skills,
- reliability, and
- personal qualities that make them a good coworker.
It can be helpful to give the letter writer the job description so they can tailor their employment reference to the particular job. If your job search is too broad for this, explain what kinds of job offers you are looking for so they can write an appropriate one.
