The government is preparing. So should you.

Read what a target letter means, what it doesn’t tell you, and which questions to bring to your next meeting about your defense.

An investigation can leave you replaying the encounter and wondering what comes next. Start with ten steps covering records to gather, questions to resolve, and ways to begin preparing while the investigation continues.

Use nine lesson plans and videos to understand the purpose of a proffer, the risks, and the questions to discuss with your defense team before participating.

One judge received 67 character letters. Another described nearly increasing a sentence after hearing the defendant speak.

Watch the interviews to hear what they read, what they dismissed, and what they wanted to know about the person standing before them.

“If you break my window, don’t say sorry. Fix the window.”

Use the private videos to apply that message to your circumstances. Identify whom your conduct affected, what you can do to make amends, and what you can show the court beyond an apology.

Your family and friends may want to help but have no idea what to write. Share examples from our judicial interviews so they can describe something they witnessed: whom you helped, what you did, and how they know.

Your judge will read the presentence report. Prison staff and your supervising probation officer will use it, too.

Learn how to organize your history, supporting records, narrative, and release plan before the interview, so you arrive with more than answers recalled on the spot.

Clients and lenders may search your name before speaking with you. Learn how to create a timestamped record through publishing, coursework, volunteer service, and updates that show what you’ve accomplished.

You don’t have to agree with the press release to recognize that people will read it.

Get Lessons from Prison, Ethics in Motion, After the Fall, The Straight-A Guide, and other books.

Read how people handled an investigation, prepared for prison, told their stories, and found ways to earn a living after coming home. Use their experiences to examine your own plans.

Use the surrender checklist to sort out what to bring, what to leave at home, and what your family needs to know before you report.

Watch educational videos about the Residential Drug Abuse Program and First Step Act credits. Learn about eligibility, participation requirements, and records you may need to gather before surrender.

Learn about prison rules, communication, visits, and interactions with staff and other prisoners. Prepare to follow your release plan inside prison without creating disciplinary problems that could interfere with it.

Describe what you intend to do, then record how you follow through. Journals, book reports, coursework, and updates give a case manager or probation officer something to examine when you ask for community placement or fewer restrictions.

Keep adding to the record through prison and after coming home.

Join live to ask about sentencing, prison, release plans, and life on supervision. Watch the replays when you need to revisit a subject or share it with your family.