For years, I have avoided calling Letters to the Court ‘character references’.
Not because the term is technically unfamiliar. Most people charged with an offence still ask for a character reference, and most people writing one still understand the phrase. But I think the wording has always been too narrow.
They are not just references.
They are Letters to the Court.
That distinction matters.
A ‘character reference’ can sound formulaic, as though the task is simply to say that someone is a good person. A Letter to the Court should do more than that. It should assist the Court with context. It should speak to responsibility, remorse, rehabilitation, impact, support, and the parts of a person’s life that are not captured by a charge sheet.
Recent discussion around the use of good character in New South Wales sentencing has put this issue back into focus. I understand the concern that can sit behind the phrase ‘good character’. For victims, it can be deeply difficult to hear an offender described in glowing terms, particularly where that description feels disconnected from the harm caused.
But sentencing has never been only about the offence. It is also about the person standing before the Court.
Two people can be charged with the same offence, but their circumstances may be entirely different. Their prior history, motivations, vulnerabilities, remorse, conduct after the offence, prospects of rehabilitation and support in the community may all be different. A just sentence needs room for those differences to matter.
That is why the way these letters are prepared is so important.
A useful Letter to the Court should not ignore the offending. It should not minimise the seriousness of the charge. It should not simply say, ‘I have always known this person to be kind, generous and hardworking.’
The strongest letters usually do something more careful. They show that the writer understands the matter is before the Court. They explain how they know the person. They speak to what they have observed. They may address steps the person has taken since the offence, the support available to them, their responsibilities, or the impact a particular sentence may have.
In other words, the letter should not ask the Court to pretend the offence did not happen. It should help the Court see the person more completely.
That is the point of individualised justice.
A criminal record can tell the Court something. The facts of the offence can tell the Court something. But neither will necessarily tell the Court the whole story.
A properly prepared Letter to the Court is not about excusing behaviour. It is about ensuring the Court has the fullest possible picture before a sentence is imposed.
And in sentencing, the fuller picture matters.
Nick Hardy, 29/06/2026
