A character reference letter for court can be important whether it is for a criminal, child custody, or family law related matter. A court character reference letter can help one’s case and ultimately have an influence on a judge or custody evaluator’s decision.
Character reference letter court for crime and sentencing. A character reference letter for court is often sought by attorneys defending a person pleading or found guilty of a crime. Depending on the case and jurisdiction the defense attorney may ask the person being sentenced to obtain several court character reference letters. The purpose of the character reference letter for court would be used to convince the sentencing Judge that the defendant is a good citizen in the community, is very sorry for what he/she did, and that the crime will not be done again.
Character reference letter court for child custody case. A court character reference letter may also be sought by family law attorneys in a child custody case. In some cases a witness may have information or have said something that could significantly help the child custody case. Rather than request a character reference letter court the attorney may suggest or request that the witness statements be placed into a formal declaration and filed with the court. A declaration is a signed statement sworn to be true by the signer that will make the signer guilty of perjury if the statement is found to be false and significant to the case.
Character reference letter court for child custody evaluation. Similar reference letters often surface in a child custody evaluation -- in California an Evidence Code Section 730 evaluation. In the context of a child custody evaluation these character reference letters are often called "collateral references." While the information may not directly appear before the court it can indirectly influence the court by influencing the child custody evaluator’s report or recommendation. In generally, while the collateral reference letters can support a particular point of view or help the evaluator with their decision, the letters are generally not given a substantial amount of weight. Often times the child custody evaluator will provide you with a collateral reference form to hand out to several individuals who can speak to your character and parenting skills.
Regardless of what character reference letter court is requested of you, you’d do well to have it reviewed by an attorney. Remember, anything submitted to the court can be used against you. Therefore, choose your character references wisely and have their statements reviewed by your attorney before you submit it to the court.
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© 2008 Child Custody Coach
Child Custody Coach supplies information, written materials, online materials, and coaching services to parents in the field of child custody, namely, divorce, child custody and visitation, divorce, child custody evaluations, parenting, and all child custody related issues. Custody Match is an online consumer and family law attorney matching service to help consumers find the right family law attorney, divorce lawyer, or child custody attorney in their area.
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