Your Honor, I am writing you concerning my sentencing hearing. I understand that I have made a decision that will impact my entire life.I am writing this letter on behalf of a family member mine who is presently before you on criminal charges and is due to be sentenced shortly. I prepped him on how to address the court prior to sentencing. In this article, we will discuss how to write a formal letter to a judge, along with the proper format and a sample letter. An allocution is simply a formal speech. In the context of a criminal case, it is the one opportunity to humanize your client before the court. When describing how you know the Defendant, make sure that you include positive details about the Defendant's life. The letter should include the name of the court your case was filed in and the case number at the top right. Put the caption (St. v.