✍️ Writing
Character Reference Letter Writer for a Criminal Sentencing Hearing: Addressed to the Judge, Who You Are and How Long You Have Known Them, Acknowledging the Offense, Specific Character Evidence, Support Plan, and Attorney Review
Help a friend, employer, or family member write a character letter a judge will read at sentencing: proper address to the court, who the writer is and how long they have known the defendant, an honest acknowledgment of the offense, specific examples of character and change, the concrete support the writer will give, and a check list for the defense attorney before submission.
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Prompt
Act as a criminal defense paralegal who collects and edits character letters for sentencing memoranda, and who has watched judges discount letters that deny the crime, attack the victim, or say only that the defendant is a good person. Inputs: - Writer: name, job, where they live, relationship to the defendant, and how many years they have known them: [WriterProfile] - Case basics the attorney approved sharing: court, judge's name and title, case number if given, the offense of conviction or plea, and sentencing date: [CaseBasics] - Specific memories of the defendant's character: things you saw them do, with rough dates: [CharacterEvidence] - What you have seen since the offense: remorse, treatment, restitution, sobriety, work: [ChangeSinceOffense] - Concrete support you will provide: job offer, housing, rides to treatment, supervision help: [SupportPlan] - Anything the attorney said to include or avoid, including whether to mention a sentence: [AttorneyNotes] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A fact intake check listing each item from CharacterEvidence and ChangeSinceOffense, marked seen by writer or heard from someone else. Letters should rely on what the writer saw. 2. The letter addressed to the judge using the exact title and name in CaseBasics (for example The Honorable Jane Doe), with a reference line for the defendant's name and case number if given. 3. An opening paragraph: who the writer is, their work and community ties, how they know the defendant, and for how long. 4. An acknowledgment paragraph: the writer knows the offense of conviction and does not excuse it. No retrying the case, no claims of innocence, no blame on the victim, police, or prosecutor. 5. Two or three character paragraphs, each built on one specific memory from CharacterEvidence with what the defendant did and why it matters. 6. A change and support paragraph: what the writer has seen since the offense and the concrete SupportPlan, with names, schedules, or commitments the writer can keep. 7. A closing that asks the court to consider these points, follows AttorneyNotes on whether to mention any sentence, and gives the writer's signature block and contact details. 8. A pre submission checklist for the defense attorney: length near one page, accurate facts, no statements about the case the attorney did not approve, signed and dated, sent to the attorney rather than directly to the judge unless instructed. Constraints: - Never invent facts, dates, achievements, or offers of support. Everything in the letter must be true and something the writer is willing to stand behind. - Respectful, plain language; no legal arguments; no em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.

Examples
Example Input
WriterProfile: Teresa Molina, owner of Molina Auto Body in Fresno for 18 years, employer of the defendant for 6 years CaseBasics: Superior Court of California, County of Fresno; The Honorable Michael R. Chen; People v. Daniel Reyes; pleaded guilty to felony DUI causing injury; sentencing November 18, 2026 CharacterEvidence: trained two apprentices without being asked (2022, 2023); came in at night during the 2023 flood to move customer cars to high ground; paid back a pay advance early in 2021; coaches his nephew's Little League team ChangeSinceOffense: told me himself the morning after his arrest; started outpatient treatment in March and has not missed a session I know of; he has asked to take the bus or get rides with coworkers since SupportPlan: his job is held open; I will adjust his shifts for treatment and court requirements; my shop manager drives past his street and will give him rides AttorneyNotes: do not ask for a specific sentence; mention the injured person only with respect; send to me, not the court Format: intake check, letter, attorney checklist
Example Output
Fact intake | Item | Source | | Trained two apprentices, 2022 and 2023 | seen by writer | | Moved customer cars during the 2023 flood | seen by writer | | Repaid pay advance early, 2021 | seen by writer | | Coaches nephew's Little League team | heard, leave out or soften | | Told writer about the arrest the next morning | seen by writer | | Outpatient treatment since March, no missed sessions known | partly seen (schedule changes); phrase carefully | Letter Teresa Molina Molina Auto Body, Fresno, California [date] The Honorable Michael R. Chen Superior Court of California, County of Fresno Re: People v. Daniel Reyes Dear Judge Chen, My name is Teresa Molina. I have owned Molina Auto Body in Fresno for eighteen years, and Daniel Reyes has worked for me for six of them. I am writing to tell the court about the person I have known at work every day. I know that Daniel pleaded guilty to felony DUI causing injury, and I know that someone was hurt because of what he did. I do not excuse it, and neither does he. I think of the person who was injured and hope for their recovery. In 2022 and again in 2023, Daniel trained our two newest apprentices without anyone asking him to. Nobody assigned him that work; he saw that they needed help and gave it. During the 2023 flood, Daniel came in at night to move our customers' cars to high ground. He treated those cars as if they were his own. In 2021 he asked for a pay advance when his family had a hard month, and he paid it back before the date we agreed. Daniel told me about his arrest himself, the morning after it happened. Since March he has asked me to move his shifts for outpatient treatment, and I have not seen him miss one of those appointments. Since his arrest he has taken the bus or ridden with coworkers. His job is waiting for him. I will adjust his schedule for treatment and any requirement the court sets, and my shop manager lives near Daniel and has agreed to drive him when needed. I respectfully ask the court to consider these things about Daniel when deciding his sentence. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Teresa Molina Owner, Molina Auto Body [phone] | [email] Attorney checklist - Length: about one page. Pass. - No specific sentence requested, per AttorneyNotes. Pass. - Little League detail left out because the writer did not see it. - Only facts from the intake appear; the writer may add the flood month or apprentice names if she remembers them exactly. - Writer signs and dates it, then sends it to you, not the court.