When a person comes to be sentenced as an ‘Offender’, the Court will consider numerous factors before deciding on the ultimate sentence. Some of these factors can be aggravating and other factors are mitigating. One mitigating factor which can have an impact on sentence imposed by the Court is an offender’s good character.
An offender will generally seek to rely on ‘Character References’ which are letters from people, ‘Referees’, who are of good reputation and know the person’s character as evidence of good character. These referees can be an offender’s partner, children, family, friends, employers and other well-regarded members of the community.
The formatting and structure of a character reference is important and will impact how much weight is given to the reference. All character references should be typed, signed and dated as well as addressed to the Presiding Judicial Officer. A contact number and/or email address should also be included in case either party or the Court wish to clarify any information included in the character reference.
It can often be quite difficult when considering what to include in the character reference. What is important is that everything is true and correct to the best of the referee’s belief. It is their reference which will be handed up in Court and relied upon at sentencing. The reference should only include what they know and believe is to be true about the offender.
Things that can be included in a character reference are as follows:
- The relationship between the referee and the offender.
- The referee’s opinion of the offender character and status in the community.
- Any discussions had about the offending.
- Any personal circumstances that may have contributed to the offending.
Although telling people about offences which an offender has pleaded guilty to can be hard, it may be important that the offender has frank and honest conversations with the referees. A character reference from an author who is fully aware of the circumstances of the offences but maintains their opinion of the person’s general character and reputation in the community holds greater weight than a character reference who has no knowledge of the offending.
In having frank and honest discussions about the offending, the Court may consider this as evidence of an offender taking responsibility and remorse – depending on what is said in those discussions. By taking responsibility and showing remorse, the Court generally can take these into account as mitigating and use this as evidence of a reduction in the risk of reoffending.
One of the biggest mistakes in character references is when the referee provides their opinion of the offending such as the offender did not commit the offence or victim blaming or that the charge is outlandish. The purpose of the character reference is not to challenge the offence or circumstances in which the offender is due to be sentenced. Should a referee attempt to do so, their character reference will often be disregarded or given substantially less weight. It might also negatively impact the offender should the Court decide the offender has not taken responsibility or shown remorse for the offending.
The purpose of the character reference is primarily to provide insight and opinions of the offender to the Court.
Character references are important materials and can have an impact on the sentence imposed by the Court. It is often important that any character references being relied upon are reviewed by a lawyer so that the Court can attribute positive weight to the reference and be satisfied that the offender is otherwise a person of good character.
