Sentencing - preparation

Once an accused ahs been convicted by a jury or has been convicted because they pled guilty pursuant to a plea bargain, the work of preparing for sentencing begins. Rather than this being the ending of the casework, it is many times the beginning of the work for the lawyer. It is here that a real difference can be made regarding punishment.  In fact, many times when a plea is negotiated, it is negotiated to restrict the maximum punishment knowing that much less is possible with some creative and diligent sentencing preparation.

One of the first steps after the plea or verdict in preparing for sentencing is lobbying the probation department with information that might help provide them reasons to recommend a mitigated sentence. The probation department is not always very sympathetic, but if you can reach them with mitigating information, sometimes it can help. The softer report they write the less problem you are going to have convincing a judge to accept your position at the sentencing hearing.  Simultaneously, your lawyer should be developing information that will show the court that your conduct was not as bad comparatively and that there are things about you and your past that justify a lesser sentence. A good lawyer will become very familiar with your life. He will want to know about your childhood, teenage and adult years and how they relate to your education, employment, military experience and personal and family relationships. If, for instance, you have a criminal record as a juvenile or adult, your lawyer will want to know if you were offered any rehabilitation on probation or parole.  If you do have a history of alcohol or drug abuse, your attorney will want to explore how your addiction began, how severe it became, and whether or not you received any formal treatment for it.

If you have never had a formal psychological evaluation done, your lawyer will want to explore the sentencing strategy of retaining a professional psychologist or psychiatrist to perform a comprehensive psychiatric/psychological evaluation on you.  Your lawyer will explain that a good psychological evaluation will offer the judge important information about your personal history that may include factors which would make it understandable why you committed a criminal act.

If you have a substance abuse problem or a debilitating mental illness, a psychological evaluation can help credibly explain how you are a really good person with a difficult problem.  People frequently crumble under the stresses of life and a psychological evaluation can help make that more understandable to people who do not know you and your life personally.  If you do have a substance abuse problem, a good psychological evaluation will set out a plan of treatment and rehabilitation that could make the difference in persuading the judge to give you a chance at probation and treatment rather than custody.

The preparation that you and your lawyer do for sentencing will help out greatly at the time of the hearing.  One word of warning: If you plan to speak at your sentencing, you must try very hard to remain humble and show the court that you understand the wrong you have done.  Fancy pre-planned speeches will not go over well with the court, prosecution, the victim(s), or victim’s family.  The court wants to hear that you are very sorry and that you recognize how far you have fallen from good healthy conduct.