Can a victim write a letter to the judge

Can I write a letter to High Court judge? What do you need to know about writing a letter to the judge? Can a judge take a letter of complaint? Why do people write letters to sentencing judge?

Whether you are writing as a victim or on behalf of a defendant, it must be written in business-style and in a professional tone in order for the judge to take the letter seriously. There are a few main reasons someone would need to write a letter to a judge. Victim Impact Statements may be difficult to write, but they are a very important part of letting your voice be heard. Victim advocates can also write to the judge at any time in the case on behalf of the victim. In fact, when criminal justice officials aren’t providing the justice merited by the case and desired by the victim, it is the responsibility of the advocate to fight on the victim’s behalf.

Send it to your Fathers Solicitor - who will possibly use it as evidence and present it to the Court if needs be. You can file the letter with the clerk instead , who will share it with the judge and the other parties in the case. If you are not involved in a current case and a court employee refuses to take your letter or assist you, file a complaint with the Chief Clerk of the courthouse.

People write reconsideration letters to judges to persuade the judge to reevaluate his decision about a matter. In most cases a person writes this type of letter to a judge after a sentencing trial. The writer tries to convince the judge to reassess a specific decision that was made by giving him detailed reasons. Most states allow oral or written statements, or both, from the victim at the sentencinghearing and require victim impact information to be included in the pre-sentence report and given to the judge before imposing sentence.

In some circumstances, you may find it helpful to write a letter to a judge. You may request the judge to increase or reduce a person’s bail. So you need to write letters to the judge to make your interest or request known to the judge. Many times victims, their family members, and friends of the victim participate in both written and verbal statements.

More often than not, numerous individuals write letters to the sentencing judge and only a few of those directly connected to the crime speak at sentencing. A letter of support is used in criminal proceedings by a judge to aid him in applying a justified sentence to a convicted defendant. Judges are often mandated by law to apply certain sentences for specific crimes, however sentencing guidelines are often in ranges.

Close your letter by reaffirming your sentencing request. Before mailing the letter , ask the defence attorney to review the letter for unintentional legal ramifications. For example the sentence for burglary could be five to years.

After the fight was over, the other guy left and got a baseball bat from his vehicle and came back and hit my son times with it before other people were able to stop him. The decision of the Judge and recommendation of the probation officer are often influenced by their impressions of the character of the individual. A well-written, detailed letter of reference that reflects positively upon the individual about to be sentenced can be of great benefit to the final outcome of a sentencing hearing.

Below is a sample reconsideration letter by the defendant to the judge who gave the sentence. It should be a formal business letter and sent by registered mail with a return receipt requested. The letter should be addressed to the judge’s full name such as Honorable Name of Judge along with the address of the district court. Sometimes people will send a letter or document to the judge and ask the judge not to tell the other party. Although you may have information that you want the judge to know about and keep in confidence, the judge is still required to disclose any ex parte communications to all parties.

Can I ever communicate directly with the court? A reconsideration letter to a judge is written to persuade the judge to reconsider a decision that was made during a sentencing trial. The writer has accepted responsibility and assured the person they were not at fault. In addition, they have told the person suffering injury what they are doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again. If you wish to write a Judge about a case or decision before the Court there are some serious prohibitions against that ever reaching the Judge.

If you are a victim of a crime you may be permitted an opportunity to have your say at sentencing. In the next example, we will.