Do character references serve any good in a court system bound by rules of evidence?

Revelation that former TD Jim Glennon wrote a character reference for a convicted child abuser should prompt a wider ...
Independent.ieOpinion

The Sunday Independent’s View: Character references have no place in a modern Irish court

Former Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry has defended his decision to provide a character reference for a man who beat and ...
The Irish Times

Character references ‘don’t carry huge weight’ if judge has decided on a custodial sentence

Character references can be of use where a convicted person awaiting sentence for a first crime appears to have truly acted out of character, according to retired High Court judge Michael White.

Character references in sex abuse cases 'need reformed'

The use of character references in sexual crime cases should be reformed urgently, campaigners have told BBC News NI.
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Tasmania flags new laws to stop 'good character' evidence as mitigating factor for serious offending

The Tasmanian government says it aims to stop "good character" references being used to lessen sentences for all serious offending. In a statement on Monday, Tasmanian Attorney-General Guy Barnett ...
The Conversation

NSW is ditching good character references in sentencing. Will the rest of the country follow?

New South Wales is set to become the first jurisdiction in the country to end the use of good character references in the sentencing of convicted criminals. The government will introduce a bill this ...
The Weekly Times

Survivor of child abuse describes ‘devastating’ issue with ‘good character’ references in bid to have them scrapped in NSW

A survivor of child sexual abuse has described a “devastating” issue with a controversial sentencing tool in a bid to have it scrapped entirely from NSW courts. The NSW government is due to scrap ...