Letter · Criminal Law
Letter of advice on the brief of evidence and plea options
Privileged advice letter to an accused client: the charges and elements, what the brief shows, the options (defend, plead, negotiate), sentencing discounts, likely penalties and collateral consequences, and the instructions needed.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the 6 authorities it cites, for New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use once the brief (or the facts sheet in a summary matter) has been served and reviewed, before the client decides how to plead. Do not use it as a substitute for a conference: complex or serious matters need the advice given in person as well, and a record of the instructions taken.
How AI may be used
AI may help structure the advice from a brief summary the lawyer has approved, in a firm-approved tool. The lawyer settles the analysis, the penalty advice and the recommendation, and checks every reference to the brief.
AI may
- Produce a witness-and-exhibit map and chronology from the permitted brief, with page references, for the lawyer to check.
- Draft the plain-English explanation of process and sentencing discounts from the statutory text the lawyer supplies.
- Check the letter for consistency between the elements table, the evidence summary and the options section.
AI must not
- Must not receive the client's instructions, admissions or confession in any consumer or public AI tool.
- Must not state likely penalties, sentencing ranges or statistics that the lawyer has not checked against a verified source.
- Must not decide or recommend the plea; that is the lawyer's advice and the client's decision.
The lawyer checks
- Every element, maximum penalty and discount is checked against the current Act.
- Every statement about the evidence is checked against the brief page cited.
- Collateral consequences (visa, licences, working with children) are confirmed or referred to a specialist.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Criminal Law
- Bail application submissions (NSW release application)
- Representations to the DPP seeking charge resolution or withdrawal
- Sentencing submissions and guidance letter for character referees
- Application under s 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW)
- Protocol: AI-assisted review of the prosecution brief and digital evidence
- Checklist: challenging or authenticating suspected AI-generated (deepfake) evidence
All precedents for Criminal Law · Tasks and AI use in this area