Summary. This toolkit assembles the working documents of a criminal defense practice in the order they are needed: the client instruction letter that prevents the most common self-inflicted damage, the preservation letter aimed at body camera and third-party video, a release plan template and bail argument outline, an enumerated discovery and Brady demand, suppression and Franks outlines, a plea evaluation memorandum that forces the collateral consequences analysis before any offer is conveyed, a sentencing memorandum framework, mitigation guidance, and the post-disposition items that determine whether a record can ever be cleared.

What this toolkit is for, and who should use it

Three facts organize criminal defense work. The evidence that decides cases perishes in days — body camera footage is retained on a schedule, business video overwrites in a week or two, and witnesses consolidate their memories around whatever account they hear first. The bail decision shapes everything downstream, because detained clients plead more often and worse. And more than ninety percent of convictions come from pleas, which makes the plea evaluation — not the trial preparation — the central analytic task in most files.

Use with the Criminal Defense Intake and First Appearance Checklist.

Roadmap at a glance

  1. Client instructions.
  2. Preservation.
  3. Bail and the release plan.
  4. Discovery and Brady.
  5. Suppression.
  6. Plea evaluation.
  7. Sentencing.
  8. Post-disposition.

Stage 1 — The client instruction letter

Send it the day of intake. It prevents more damage than any motion.

Dear [Client]:

I represent you in the above matter. Please follow these instructions exactly. Every one of them protects you.

1. Do not discuss this case with anyone but me. Not family, not friends, not coworkers, not anyone in custody. Conversations with me are privileged. Conversations with everyone else are not, and those people can be subpoenaed.

2. Assume every telephone call, email, and video visit from a jail is recorded and will be listened to. Do not discuss the facts of the case on them, in any form, including indirectly or in code. Recorded jail calls are used against defendants in court constantly.

3. Do not talk to law enforcement. If contacted, say: "I have a lawyer. I am not going to answer questions. Please contact my attorney." Then stop.

4. Do not have any contact with [complaining witness] or any witness — not directly, not through friends or family, not by text or social media. Any contact can be charged as intimidation or tampering and would seriously damage this case.

5. Comply with every release condition exactly. They are: [list]. If you cannot comply with one, call me before it happens.

6. Attend every court date. They are: [list]. Arrive thirty minutes early and dress as you would for a job interview. If an emergency prevents you from attending, call me before the hearing.

7. Do not post anything about this case online, and do not delete anything that already exists. Deleting is worse than posting.

8. Tell me the bad facts. I can deal with a problem I know about. I cannot deal with one I learn about at trial.

9. Preserve everything — receipts, messages, photographs, names and numbers of anyone who saw anything.

10. Call me with any contact from police, probation, or anyone connected to the case, the same day.

Stage 2 — The preservation letter

RE: Preservation of Evidence — [Client], [Case/Report No.], [Date of Incident]

This firm represents [client]. Please preserve, and suspend any routine deletion, overwriting, or destruction of, the following, in native format with all metadata:

  1. All body-worn camera recordings from every officer present at any point, from activation through deactivation;
  2. All in-car video and audio;
  3. All booking, sally port, holding cell, and interview room video;
  4. All 911 call recordings, dispatch audio, CAD entries, and radio traffic;
  5. All jail telephone, email, and video-visit recordings involving [client];
  6. All photographs and measurements taken at the scene;
  7. All physical evidence, including any vehicle, in its present condition, pending inspection;
  8. All notes, drafts, and supplemental reports, including officers' handwritten field notes;
  9. All records concerning the calibration, maintenance, and operator certification of any testing instrument used;
  10. All laboratory bench notes, instrument output, and chain-of-custody records.

Please confirm in writing that a preservation hold has been implemented and identify the retention schedule applicable to each category.

Send a separate, simpler version to private parties — businesses, residences, and transit agencies near the scene — because their systems overwrite in seven to thirty days and they will not preserve anything absent a request.

Stage 3 — Bail and the release plan

The release plan document, handed up at the hearing:

Item Detail Verification attached
Residence Address, with whom, how long available Letter from resident
Third-party custodian Name, relationship, employment, willingness to appear Present in court
Employment Employer, position, hours, supervisor contact Employer letter
Community ties Years in county, family locally, children, schools —
Treatment Program, intake date, contact Enrollment confirmation
Medical needs Condition, provider, medication Records
Prior appearance record Prior cases and attendance Docket printouts
Proposed conditions Reporting frequency, curfew, monitoring, no-contact, travel, surrender of passport —

The argument outline, tracking 18 U.S.C. § 3142 or the state analogue:

  1. The statutory presumption is release on the least restrictive conditions.
  2. Nature and circumstances of the offense — the concrete facts, not the charge label.
  3. Weight of the evidence — the least important factor by statute, and worth saying so.
  4. History and characteristics — ties, employment, record, appearance history, substance use and treatment.
  5. Danger to the community — addressed by specific proposed conditions, not by assertion.
  6. The proposed conditions package, presented as a solution rather than a request.
  7. Detention as regulatory rather than punitive — United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987) — and therefore justified only where no condition or combination will suffice.

Stage 4 — Discovery and Brady demand

Enumerate. General demands produce general responses.

Pursuant to [Rule 16 / state rule], Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, and the Due Process Clause, defendant requests:

Statements and records — all statements of the defendant, written, recorded, or summarized; the defendant's criminal record; all documents and objects material to the defense or intended for use in the case-in-chief; all examination and test reports; and a summary of any expert testimony with the basis and qualifications.

Exculpatory and impeachment material —

  1. Any statement by any witness inconsistent with that witness's anticipated testimony or with any other witness's account;
  2. Any benefit, promise, consideration, immunity, or expectation of leniency provided to or sought by any witness;
  3. The criminal history and pending charges of every government witness;
  4. Any finding, complaint, or disciplinary action bearing on the credibility of any testifying officer, to the extent discoverable under governing law;
  5. Any forensic testing that was inconclusive, negative, or excluded the defendant;
  6. All identification procedures, including any non-identification or tentative identification;
  7. Any statement by any codefendant or third party inculpating another or exculpating the defendant;
  8. Any evidence that another person committed the offense.

Forensic files — complete case files rather than summary reports: bench notes, instrument output and raw data, calibration and maintenance records, proficiency test results for the analyst, standard operating procedures in effect on the date of testing, and complete chain-of-custody documentation.

Electronic evidence — all body-worn and in-car video in native format with metadata; all CAD and dispatch records; all cell site, device extraction, and location data, together with the extraction reports and the tools and versions used.

Stage 5 — Suppression motion outline

I. Statement of facts — drawn from the reports and the video, with timestamps. Where they conflict, say so precisely. II. The stop. Reasonable suspicion at the moment of the seizure, based on specific articulable facts. Address unlawful prolongation: identify the moment the traffic mission was complete and what happened after it. III. The arrest. Probable cause on the facts known at the time. IV. The search. Warrant or exception. If a warrant, address the four corners of the affidavit, particularity, and scope. If an exception, address each element of it. V. Consent, if relied on. Voluntariness under the totality of the circumstances; authority of the person who gave it; scope; and whether it was withdrawn. VI. Statements. Custody (objective test), interrogation (words or actions reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response), warnings, waiver, and voluntariness. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). VII. Fruits. Derivative evidence, and the attenuation, independent source, and inevitable discovery doctrines. VIII. Relief requested.

The Franks motion, where the warrant affidavit contains a false statement or a material omission: allege the specific false statement or omission, offer proof that it was made knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, and demonstrate that with the falsehood set aside or the omission included, the affidavit lacks probable cause. Request an evidentiary hearing.

Remember the collateral value. Even a denied suppression motion places the officer under oath, on the record, months before trial, describing exactly what happened — testimony that can never be revised afterward.

Stage 6 — The plea evaluation memorandum

Never convey an offer without completing this. It is the document that prevents the ineffective-assistance claims that arise from Padilla, Frye, and Lafler.

Item Analysis
Charge(s) offered — statute and subsection
Maximum exposure at trial, all counts
Mandatory minimums implicated
Guideline or state range under the offer
Realistic sentence under the offer
Agreement type: recommendation vs. binding Fed. R. Crim. P. 11
Appellate waiver scope
Immigration consequence of this exact subsection Padilla
Alternative disposition avoiding that consequence
Professional licensing consequence
Firearms prohibition
Sex offender registration
Housing, education, and public benefit consequences
Family court and custody consequences
Expungement / sealing eligibility and waiting period
Diversion or deferred alternatives requested and response
Restitution and financial obligations
Probation conditions and violation exposure
Strength of the case after investigation and motions
Recommendation, and the client's decision

Document that every formal offer was communicated — Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (2012) — and that competent advice was given about the consequences of rejecting it, Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (2012). And hold the government to its promises, Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (1971).

Stage 7 — Sentencing

Presentence report objections — file on schedule under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32. Audit: criminal history points and category, relevant conduct, loss or drug quantity calculation, every specific offense characteristic, role adjustments, acceptance of responsibility, and custody credit.

The sentencing memorandum, tracking 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a):

I. The correct range, and any disputed calculation. II. The nature and circumstances of the offense — accurately, including what it was not. III. The history and characteristics of the defendant — the mitigation narrative, documented. IV. The purposes of sentencing, addressing each: seriousness and just punishment, deterrence, protection of the public, and treatment or training — and why the proposed sentence achieves them. V. Unwarranted disparities, with comparators. VI. The specific sentence requested, and why it is "sufficient, but not greater than necessary." VII. Requested conditions, judicial recommendations on placement and programming, and an ability-to-pay determination with a proposed payment plan.

Support letter instructions to give every writer:

Please write one page on your own letterhead or stationery. State who you are, how you know [defendant], and for how long. Then describe specific things you have personally observed — an instance of responsibility, of care for someone, of work performed. Do not argue about the case, do not comment on guilt or innocence, and do not criticize the prosecution or the court. If you know the defendant has accepted responsibility, you may say so. Close with what you will do to support them going forward, concretely. Address it to "The Honorable [name]" and send it to me, not to the court.

Why the instruction matters. Judges read hundreds of these. Letters that argue the case are discounted; letters describing observed conduct are read closely.

Stage 8 — Post-disposition

  • Notice of appeal — calendar the deadline immediately; it is short and it is jurisdictional.
  • Transcript — order it, especially the plea colloquy, which decides later immigration and post-conviction questions.
  • Client file package — charging document, plea agreement, judgment showing statute and subsection, colloquy transcript, proof of completion, and receipts for all payments.
  • Expungement / sealing — calendar the eligibility date and tell the client what will be required.
  • Restoration of rights — voting, firearms, jury service, on state-specific rules.
  • Collateral referrals — immigration counsel, licensing counsel, family counsel, and civil counsel where a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 may exist.
  • Collateral review — advise on the one-year limitations period for a § 2255 motion or habeas petition and on the procedural default rules, and preserve the record for an ineffective assistance claim under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984).

Budget, timing, and the questions clients ask

Timing. Misdemeanor: one to six months. Contested felony: nine to eighteen months to trial. Appeal: one year or more. Collateral review: several.

Cost. Retained representation ranges from low four figures for a misdemeanor to six figures for a felony trial. Appointed counsel is free, sometimes with an application fee or recoupment order. Bond premiums are non-refundable. Supervision, testing, and monitoring fees frequently exceed the fine.

"Will I go to jail?" The honest answer depends on the charge, the record, the jurisdiction, and the disposition — and the honest process is to answer it in writing after the discovery is reviewed, not at the first meeting.

"What is the single most valuable thing I can do?" Say nothing to anyone, appear at every date, and comply with every condition. Those three, together, change more outcomes than any motion.

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This toolkit is educational and not legal advice. Templates must be adapted to the applicable rules and local practice, which differ substantially between the federal system and the states.