Background Section
Learn how to draft a Background section (1,200–1,700 words) that humanizes you without making excuses. Select concrete life details that build credibility with the judge.
Module Resources
Learning Objectives
Humanize
Draft a Background section (1,200–1,700 words) that humanizes without excuses
Life Details
Select concrete life details that build credibility
Vivid Scene
Include one vivid, truthful scene that shows character
Health/Recovery
Add documentation for mitigation and PSR accuracy
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, you move from the Introduction to the Background—the longest, most detailed part of your sentencing narrative. Its purpose is to help a judge see the whole person behind the case. The instructor models a step-by-step workflow: return to the existing AI conversation containing your full transcript, ask for Section Two—Background, then paste the draft into your working document and edit for authenticity.
What Belongs in Background
This section offers human context, not excuses. The transcript shows how to weave together: family origins (e.g., immigrant parents, trades work ethic), childhood environment, schooling, early jobs, and a vivid scene that shows character.
The model uses sensory detail (smell of sawdust, chill of morning air, tool belt on a construction site) to place the judge in a moment that reveals values learned (or ignored). You should do the same with one short, concrete scene from your life.
Accountability Over Minimization
The revision process deliberately avoids blaming others or circumstances. Instead, the narrator identifies patterns—entitlement, shortcuts, resistance to discipline—that predated the offense.
The message is candid: misconduct did not begin at arrest; it began when the person adopted habits that ignored responsibility. This framing is persuasive because it shows moral insight and self-awareness—qualities judges consistently reward.
Health and Recovery Details—Only If True
The lesson demonstrates how to document the use of drugs or alcohol history. It shows how acknowledging blackouts, impaired judgment, and family warnings (when accurate) can be relevant to Bureau of Prisons programming (e.g., RDAP).
If you do not memorialize your history with drugs or alcohol, you will not qualify for RDAP, even if you need the program. Many people make the mistake of thinking that revealing their history of drugs or alcohol will make them look bad in front of the judge. That is not accurate. The judge will want to see personal growth, introspection, and a plan to make things better.
How to Work with AI
Rather than accepting the AI draft at face value, you should be the master. Notice how in the video the instructor:
- Checks word count
- Reads the narrative aloud
- Corrects facts (names, spellings, dates)
- Replaces generic phrasing with lived specifics
- Improves transitions from the Introduction and toward the next section
This paste → generate → revise loop ensures your Background sounds like you, not a template.
Quality Checklist
A judge-ready Background is first-person, specific, and free of legal argument. It presents opportunities you had, choices you made, and lessons you've drawn. It shows growth by contrasting past attitudes with current insight and by previewing the concrete changes you're making now.
By the end, you will have a credible, readable Background that anchors the rest of your narrative and prepares the judge to understand the Influences Leading to the Crime next.