Editing Allocution

{{Short description|Formal statement by a defendant who has been found guilty prior to being sentenced}}
{{About|the common law legal procedure}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2008}}

An '''allocution''', or '''allocutus''', is a formal statement made to a court by the [[defendant]] who has been found guilty before being sentenced. It is part of the [[criminal procedure]] in some jurisdictions using [[common law]].

== Concept ==
An allocution allows the defendant to explain why the sentence should be lenient. In [[plea bargain]]s, an allocution may be required of the defendant. The defendant explicitly admits specifically and in detail the actions and their reasons in exchange for a reduced sentence.

In principle, that removes any doubt as to the exact nature of the defendant's guilt in the matter.

The term ''allocution'' is used generally only in jurisdictions in the United States, but there are vaguely similar processes in other [[common law countries]]. In many other jurisdictions, it is for the [[Criminal defense lawyer|defense lawyer]] to mitigate on their client's behalf, and the defendant rarely has the opportunity to speak.

==Australia==
In Australia, the term ''allocutus'' is used by the Clerk of Arraigns or another formal associate of the court.

It is generally phrased as: "Prisoner at the Bar, you have been found Guilty by a jury of your peers of the offence of XYZ. Do you have anything to say as to why the sentence of this Court should not now be passed upon you?"<ref>e.g. in Queensland, [http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_reg/cpr1999208/s51.html Criminal Practice Rules 1999 s51]</ref>

The [[Defense (legal)|defense counsel]] will then make a ''plea in mitigation'' (also called ''submissions on penalty'') in an attempt to mitigate the relative seriousness of the offense, and heavily refer to and rely upon the defendant's previous good character and good works, if any.

The right to make a plea in mitigation is absolute: if a judge or magistrate refuses to hear such a plea or does not properly consider it, the sentence can be overturned on appeal.

==United States==
In most of the United States, defendants are allowed the opportunity to allocute before a sentence is passed. Some jurisdictions hold that as an absolute right. In its absence, a sentence but not the conviction may be overturned, resulting in the need for a new sentencing hearing. In the federal system, [[Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure]] 32(i)(4) provides that the court must "address the defendant personally in order to permit the defendant to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/Rule32.htm|title=Rule 32. Sentencing and Judgment|date=30 November 2011|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=22 December 2017}}</ref>

The [[Federal Public Defender]] recommends that defendants speak in terms of how a lenient sentence will be sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with the statutory directives set forth in {{uscsub|18|3553|a}}.<ref>{{Cite web|author1=Defender Services Office Training Division|publisher=Administrative Office of the United States Courts|location=Washington, DC |url=https://www.fd.org/search/site/allocution |title=Allocution pleading |access-date=22 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019195150/http://fd.org/pdf_lib/allocution%20pleading.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Confession (law)]]
* [[Newton hearing]], the equivalent in England and Wales

==References==
{{wiktionary}}
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Criminal procedure]]
[[Category:Evidence law]]