The Federal Probation Interview

If you’re preparing for sentencing, the federal probation interview is where people either help themselves or quietly hurt themselves.

Not because probation “likes” them. Not because they sound sorry.

Because what they say in the interview confirms they are different or exactly who the government says they are.

What the Federal Probation Interview Is

The federal probation interview is the meeting (in person, Zoom, or phone) where probation gathers information to write the pre-sentence report.

That report goes to all stakeholders, including the Judge.

If you show up unprepared, the interview can turn into seven minutes of “fine” and “nothing really.”

If you show up prepared, you give probation material content they can use to advocate on your behalf. No one can change the narrative but you!!

Before the Federal Probation Interview

Before your federal probation interview, you want this handled:

• Your narrative is created.
  
• You’ve filled out the forms (or you’re ready to fill them out fast).
  
• Your financials and paperwork are organized.
  

If the interview is Zoom or phone, keep your narrative in front of you. People in our community do that. They’re checking off points they want to convey.

You can also keep bullet points in front of you:

• acceptance of responsibility (if it applies)
  
• key facts you want conveyed
  
• background points you want included
  

Stay Consistent

You can’t say one thing in the interview and have something different in the narrative. It happens all the time.

And the moment it happens, the probation officer sees a contradiction.

Showing Up: Time and Appearance

What you do

• Be on time.
  
• Dress professionally.
  
• Even if it’s on Zoom, dress professionally.
  

My example

I went in a suit and tie. Some don’t. I would.

How I Open the Interview

What you do

If you’re in a position to accept responsibility, put it out there early. Don’t wait for the officer to ask later.

My example (how I opened)

I said something like:

“Thank you for seeing me. I’m very nervous, but I want you to know that I accept full responsibility for my conduct. I blame no one but myself. I know my choices created victims. I hurt people. I know people are going to suffer because of bad choices I made. I want to do better. Thank you for seeing me.”

That set the tone.

And throughout the interview, I kept coming back to my talking points: responsibility, victims first, what I was doing to change.

If you can’t say “I accept responsibility”

If you went to trial and are not accepting responsibility you can still show up:

• professional
  
• deferential
  
• humble

And you can still share valuable details about your background. And you can convey what you value.

The Background Portion: Don’t Make It a Seven-Minute Interview

What probation will ask

In the federal probation interview, probation will most likely ask:

• Where are you from?
  
• Where were you raised?
  
• Where did you grow up?
  
• Describe the living situation growing up.
  
• What were your parents like?
  
• What do your brothers and sisters do?
  

What doesn’t work

If probation asks about your background and you answer like this:

• “It was fine.”
  
• “They were nice.”
  
• “No, not really.”
  

That’s how your federal probation interview ends up being seven minutes.

If you want the shortest interview possible, that’s the path.

What I encourage instead

Be honest. Be authentic. Share information you think is relevant.

You’ll use judgment. But don’t default to vague answers.

Why Some Details Matter (Even If Someone Calls It “Fluff”)

What you do

People get told all the time, sometimes by a lawyer: “You’re sharing too much. Why are you talking about what you did at ten years old? That’s fluff.”

Here’s what we’ve heard from subject-matter experts we’ve interviewed: those details can be relevant.

Why?

Because two people can both be charged with a white collar crime and have completely different upbringings.

If you don’t articulate the background, people assume you’re just another version of the same story: greed, money, victims. That’s the default assumption.

You don’t change that assumption by being vague.

My example

I wasn’t working at ten. My youth was dominated by baseball. That was my job—traveling the country, playing baseball, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen years old. I didn’t work. Didn’t even consider it.

That’s part of my story, and it’s different from the person who had to work young.

My Encino Example: How I Handled a Quick Assumption

My example:

In my federal probation interview, I said I grew up in Encino, California.

She cut me off: “Encino. That’s a very nice area.”

The way she said it, I heard the assumption behind it.

So I said: “May I share an interesting comment about Encino?”

Then I said:

• It is a beautiful area and I was fortunate to grow up there.
  
• My father says if he bought the home two years later, he never could have afforded it.
  
• Neither of my parents graduated college.
  
• My father owned a small business, a hardware store two miles from USC.
  
• He drove to work every day in his red Honda with a red shirt that said “Bernie.”
  
• My mom worked all day, then went to the USC paralegal program five nights a week, then went back to work the next day.
  

We were fortunate to live there, but my parents weren’t doctors and lawyers. They had blue collar jobs.

Then I said what was true: I’ve let them down.

What you do

If a quick assumption gets made about you—because of where you grew up, what you did for a living, what you earned—correct it with facts.

Not excuses. Facts.

What I Covered About Family

My example

I was open about my family:

• I spoke about my brother honestly: we get along, but we were never that close.
  
• I said he was supporting me through a difficult time.
  
• I talked about my parents’ divorce after 23 years, and how difficult it was.
  
• I said something that was true: ironically, one result of my case was my family rallied and became closer.
  

I wasn’t trying to “spin” it. I was giving a full background.

What you do

If your background is measurably different from mine—harder, different, more chaotic—articulate it.

If you were privileged, own it.

Don’t duck it.

Mike Stoll: “Fluff” That Ended Up in the PSR

My example

Mike Stoll told me his lawyer said his narrative was too long and called parts of it fluff—especially childhood stories like working with his father at ten years old.

Mike didn’t like that advice.

He said, “I’ve watched the interviews Santos has done with judges. They tell me background matters.”

So Mike owned it.

He wrote the narrative, submitted it, and then in the federal probation interview, he articulated it the same way.

After sentencing, he emailed me and said the narrative influenced the pre-sentence report, and parts were copied verbatim. He said the judge recounted details directly from his narrative in court, including the childhood story his lawyer wanted cut.

What you do

If something is relevant to your life and background, and you’re not using it to dodge responsibility, don’t automatically delete it because someone calls it fluff.

A Simple Checklist for the Federal Probation Interview

What you do

• Read your narrative over and over until everything you say matches it.
  
• Write bullet points of what you want conveyed.
  
• Organize your financials and paperwork so it’s easy to follow.
  
• Prepare for background questions so you don’t answer “fine” and “nothing really.”
  
• Be on time. Dress professionally.

Thank you!

Justin Paperny

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