PreSentence Investigation Report
A well written, comprehensive sentencing report has the potential to serve and benefit courts, clients and communities.
“People are always speculating:
Why am I as I am? To understand...any person, his whole life from birth must be reviewed. All our experiences fuse into our personalities. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.”
Defense-based sentencing mitigation typically involves three key phases: investigation, report writing, and the sentencing hearing.
The investigation phase encompasses comprehensive interviewing, psychological assessment, detailed background investigation, and an evaluation of the findings, which include the defendant’s social, family, and criminal history.
Mitigating factors are not excuses, but necessary context. They illuminate the path to the current situation and are vital for a fair, balanced sentence.
A thorough investigation will identify mitigating factors, guiding the sentencing report and helping to create a plan to demonstrate to the judge that the client presents a reduced or minimal threat to the community. Plans should integrate robust support systems: restorative justice, mental health care, housing, employment, and community service.
Testimony, character letters, and the defendant’s allocution at the final hearing solidify the mitigating evidence, thereby validating the sentencing recommendation as the optimal path forward.
Psychological Evaluation
There may be significant signs and symptoms of mental illness (ex. substance use disorder) that warrant evaluation and diagnosis. It can be significantly persuasive to the court if the report includes a comprehensive plan addressing treatment, employment opportunities, and integration into a community living situation.
It is also important to include a description of any emotional, mental illness or personality factors that may have led to the client’s situation. As a licensed psychotherapist, Ms. Andreas can provide these critical impressions in her reports.
Innovative Advocacy Strategies: Genograms, Timeline Graphs, Photographic Corroboration
Forensic analysis and multimedia exhibits transform a client’s history into a compelling, evidence-backed story. These tools empower the court to look beyond the charges and recognize the specific mitigating factors and character strengths central to our defense
Determination of Appropriate Consequences
Sentencing assumes guilt; the challenge is determining the precise, appropriate consequence. The court must be persuaded that the consequence recommended in the report is not only the best but also the one that meets the basic requirements of sentencing: addressing the client’s rehabilitation needs and protecting the public, without unduly depreciating the seriousness of the crime.
This is accomplished by having a thorough understanding of pertinent case factors and the potential sentencing possibilities, the creation of innovative consequences, and exceptional persuasive writing skills.
Specific examples of innovative consequences that have succeeded in court can be discussed further during an initial consultation with Lisa Andreas.