A guide to writing a character reference

A guide to writing a character reference for court

For the Magistrates' Court & Crown Court

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A character reference is a letter demonstrating the good character of the person involved in criminal court proceedings, written by a person who knows the accused and is willing to vouch for them.

When writing a character reference for court for a motoring offence, it is important to bear in mind the tone and content of the reference.  The reference should be clear and specific to allow a Magistrate or District Judge to consider the reference in light of the particular charge(s).

The aim of a character reference is to portray to the court the genuine character of the accused person.

Tone of the reference

Being involved in a Magistrates’ Court case is a serious event and therefore the tone of a character reference should reflect this by being honest and formal.

The reference should be addressed to the recipient correctly.  For example, a case in the Magistrates Court should be addressed to ‘The Presiding Magistrate’ and state the court location (i.e. the court hearing the case).  The letter should be dated and signed by the author of the reference. Letter headed paper is always preferable. 

Content of the reference

How to structure a character reference:

1. Introduce yourself, state what your occupation is and any qualifications you hold.
2. In what capacity do you know them the defendant?
3. Tell the court that you’re aware of the proceedings 
4. Give some background surrounding your relationship with the defendant
5. What are the defendant’s good qualities (think family or employment)
6. Do they do outside charity work?
7. What steps are they taking towards improvement? 
8. Anything else you feel is appropriate to add

Character Reference Do's and Don'ts

DO: give a short summary on how you know the person, how long you have known each other for and how often you are in contact.  Are you a family member, co-worker, employer or friend?  The longer you have known the person, greater weight can be placed on your reference by the court.

DO: show that you are aware of the offence the person has committed.  If the accused has spoken to you about the charges, it will be helpful to state how the accused feels (i.e. they are distressed or upset, they feel remorseful and sorry for what they have done, they have attended counselling, or have sought rehabilitation and treatment).

DO: outline any personal problems or hardships that may have played a part in the offending behaviour. In relation to problems such as mental illness or drug or alcohol use, you may state any efforts the accused has made to overcome these personal difficulties.

DO: you think it is out of character for the person to have committed the offence?  You should also include information favourable to the person, including charity work they have undertaken or any special achievements.

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DON’T: delve into your complete personal history with the individual in a character reference for court. Magistrates get bored quickly. Character references should be no longer than a single page.

DON’T: argue against the charges on behalf of the person or suggest that they are not guilty of the offence. Remember a character reference is only presented to the court following a conviction or guilty plea. 

DON’T: include information you know to be untrue.  

DON’T: make suggestions regarding sentence (i.e. by asking the court not to impose a ban). 

DON’T: exaggerate. No one is perfect and the magistrates will know this. A character reference is only credible if it’s honest.

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Who can write a character reference for court?

For use in a UK court, a character reference can be written by anyone who knows the defendant, as long as they can speak truthfully and objectively around their character.

Having said that, courts tend to put more weight behind character references from “objective” people who have regular contact with the defendant (friend, colleague, employer etc) rather than a family member, who are deemed to be more biassed in favour of the person they’re writing the reference for.

These people tend to be best for writing a character reference to be used in a court case:

Employer, manager or colleague

Someone who can speak well about the defendant’s conduct, reliability, punctuality etc in a professional setting.

Community leaders

This could be someone from a local church attended by the defendant, charity organisers or members of community groups who can speak about the conduct of the defendant.

Educational figures

For defendants still in education, teachers, tutors or sports coaches can be good people to provide character references as they can speak to the defendants attitude, nature, punctuality etc.

Family members

As we’ve said, family members can be seen to hold some bias as far as courts are concerned, but a character reference from a family member about the defendant's domestic life or responsibilities can be beneficial.

All character references should be sent to us as your defence solicitor so we can review them and ensure they fit with our defence strategy.

We’ll then present them to the presiding Judge or Magistrate on the day of your sentencing.

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How many character references should I get for court?

There are no specific rules about how many character references you should get, but as a general rule we’d always push for quality over quantity.

2-3 well written, quality character references can be more effective for courts than 10 references that don’t hit the right tone or level of detail.

We can help advise on obtaining references if we’re instructed as your solicitor to ensure you get the right amount of quality references.

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