Who Form 2220 Text 2023-2024

Hi everyone, I'm Justin. I am here today to talk about whether your efforts really matter. This topic is important to me because I received a call this morning from a defendant in North Carolina, not far from Wake Forest University where I have spoken in the past. The defendant called after watching a video I filmed last year called "Ten Ways to Get More Time in Prison". In that video, I discussed various actions that could result in a longer term in prison, such as not accepting responsibility, not disclosing substance abuse, or continuing to spend aggressively if restitution is owed. The defendant told me that he doesn't engage in many of these behaviors, but he is worried that his efforts might not make a difference. Specifically, he expressed concern about cultivating his network, collecting character reference letters, working with me and my colleague Michael on a narrative, and saving money to pay restitution. He fears that all of this work will be for nothing if it doesn't impact the judge's decision. I understand these concerns, and I want to address some realities. Firstly, you will only be sentenced once, so it is impossible to know exactly what will happen. However, I want to emphasize that your goal should be to stand before the judge and know that you have done everything possible to prepare for that moment, regardless of the outcome. I cannot guarantee a specific result, but I believe that your efforts will lead to better things. Cultivating your network, obtaining character reference letters, and engaging in volunteer work demonstrate that you are worthy of a favorable outcome. These efforts have proven to be helpful for many of our clients. Some defendants may argue that these actions do not matter, that judges don't read letters or consider volunteer work. However,...