Before sentenceing on felony drug charges Can you turn into the judge character reference letters asking for leniency?

You are entitled to a sentencing hearing and can put on evidence. You should have a lawyer do it and help you with it. You can do it in the form of a memorandum. My standard disclaimer: I am not offering legal advice, assume I do not know the law in your state and that I am just making suggestions for starting points for when you do speak with an attorney. Do NOT rely on anything I write and contact a lawyer in your area immediately after reading my posting.

The short answer is yes. You can submit whatever you want to the judge — whether he’ll read it is up to the judge - and whether it will persuade the judge depends on what you submit; what kind of judge you have; the facts of your case; and your criminal history. Your lawyer really is the best person to "know" the answer to those questions. And that what's brings me to the more troubling part of your question - it sounds like you don't trust your lawyer. If that's just because s/he is a PD and you are assuming incompetence, I think that's a mistake. If your distrust is based on your history with this particular PD and how s/he has handled your case, then I would strongly suggest that you and your lawyer have a heart to heart soon. You will never feel well represented if there are trust issues. And working against each other will not help your case. Believe me, it seldom goes well when the court sees that the lawyer and the client are at odds — usually the judge assumes that the client is a major pain in the rear. Even when the judge does not have a great deal of respect for a particular defense attorney, the judge seldom becomes the defendant’s greatest ally. Bottom line - if you act against your lawyer's advice, you are taking a tremendous risk that you will do more damage to your case. Talk to your lawyer - try to get him/her to see your side and then listen to why s/he thinks your idea is a bad idea. Find out if your lawyer thinks the letters will actually do any harm. There’s a huge difference between a long shot and something that will irritate the judge — if your lawyer is just saying the letters are a waste of time, then probably they are not going to hurt you and you should be able to get your lawyer should sign on. If the letters will annoy the judge and he tends to sentence more harshly when annoyed, then you need to know that. If at the end of the conversation you are not seeing eye-to-eye then you may want to get another lawyer to handle the sentencing.

I should add that while I hate the common PD bashing that private lawyers sometimes do (I was a PD in L.A. County and know for a fact that many are top-notch trial lawyers working at the PD), the reality is some aren’t that good. I did pick up a relative's case out of the Indio office where the PD gave the worst advice ever on a drug case. If your case is out of that office, email me with the name of the PD and I'll let you know if it was the same one.

You can always give it a shot. Judge may not take the letters under consideration, but I would think that as a part of a pre-sentence investigation the judge would consider the letters. Disclaimer: I am not offering legal advice, assume I do not know the law in your state and that I am just making suggestions for starting points for when you do speak with an attorney. Do NOT rely on anything I write and contact a lawyer in your area immediately after reading my posting.

The short answer is yes. You can present letters on your behalf and probably you should. If your lawyer simply tells you that the judge will not read the letters, that is not a good or satisfying answer. If, on the other hand, the lawyer believes the letters will hurt you - and hurt they might depending what is in them - then it is a different conversation. You should have an honest conversation with your lawyer about the real reasons why he/she thinks the letters should not be used. Jacek W. Lentz, Esq. 310.273.1361 www.lentzlawfirm.com

I don't think the answer that the judge won't read your letters of recommendation was a good answer. But I can see how submitting them might make matters worse. Such as, if you have a history of drug sales offenses or arrests and you were caught with a pound of meth for sale, I can see that letters telling the judge what a great guy you are would only tick the judge off, and maybe net you a worse sentence than if you didn't do it. I agree with other attorneys posting that most P.D.'s are very good criminal lawyers. Their problem is that they are overworked. That does not mean that your judgment is better than theirs, though. I can tell you one thing I hate is when clients listen more to their jail house lawyer buddies than to me. Is that where you got this advice to get the letters?