Case Manager Assignment | Essay Help Services

Create a pre-sentence letter to the court. This letter is being written by you as a probation officer/case manager after the client is already found guilty of a charge.

Especially in felony and more serious misdemeanor cases, judges typically rely on presentence reports, prepared by probation officers, in making sentencing decisions. Probation officers usually prepare these reports during a several-week interval between the conviction and the date set for sentencing.

You will make up the details for the content of the letter, there are guidelines for contact listed below. The content of the letter is not a full detail of the police report, but rather should present a brief overview of the incident. Other details should make up the bulk of the content for consideration by the judge for sentencing purposes.

The letter must be addressed to the judge in the case, it must include a sentencing recommendation, and it must be in a formal letter format.

To prepare the report, a probation officer first interviews the defendant and checks the defendant’s criminal record. The probation officer typically talks to the victim, the defendant’s educator or employer, the arresting officer, and the defendant’s family and friends.

A Presentence Interview:

Probation officers often question defendants very closely. An officer is likely to want to know a defendant’s:

version of the criminal act giving rise to the conviction
reason or motive for committing the crime
prior criminal record, including juvenile record
personal and family history
education
employment history
health
past and present alcohol and drug use
financial status, and
military record (if any)
In addition to the information gleaned from these sources, most probation presentence reports also provide:

the circumstances of the offense
the defendant’s personal history, including the defendant’s criminal record, and
a statement by the victim as to what the victim lost or how the victim suffered, sometimes called a victim impact statement
It is important that the probation officer present all of the facts both good and bad, because the report is likely to have a significant impact on the judge’s sentencing decision.

The paper must be a minimum of 500 words
All papers should be double spaced between lines of text to allow for editing notes
The letter must be in a formal business letter format. Lack of proper use of the colon will result in a failing grade for the assignment
If any documents are referenced as enclosed or attached, then an enclosure line is required
The letter must include a recommendation for sentencing
Keep details simple and concise. Be clear and logical in your presentation of information