Client Homework for Your CACI Case

Once you hire me to represent you in your CACI case, there will be some tasks we will need to start working on. I refer to your tasks as Client Homework.

1. Statement of Facts
2. List of Witnesses
3. Statements of Witnesses
4. Character Letters/Reference Letters
5. Brag Sheet
6. Life Story
7. Incident Impact Statement
8. CACI Listing Impact Statement

The CPS social worker who investigated your case should have taken careful notes to document any conversation had with witnesses, including yourself. These notes assist the social worker in creating the CPS file. The file is given quite a bit of weight because it is based off the notes, taken at or near the time of any interviews. This can put you at a disadvantage if you didn’t also keep careful notes about what happened. To level the playing field as best we can, I need you to write down everything that happened, everything related to the accusation against you. It is helpful if you write your story in chronological order. I’d like you to include, dates, times, quotes, names of people involved, names of people present, what you knew, what other people knew, etc. Include as much detail as you possibly can. If you’re not sure whether you should include something, go ahead and include it. Your Statement of Facts cannot be too long. Your memory will fade as time goes on, so get started on this right away.

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We will want witnesses on our side in your CACI case, so I need you to write a list of witnesses, with each witness’s name, phone number(s), address, and email address. (Don’t worry; no witnesses will be contacted without discussing it with your beforehand.) Please also a statement explaining in what way each person is a witness–what role does each person play in your case?

There are two types of witnesses that can be helpful to us: percipient witnesses and character witnesses. A percipient witness is someone who saw, heard, felt, smelled or tasted something–someone who knows something they learned from using their own five senses. It includes anyone who has any knowledge about the incident, even if their knowledge came from you or even a third party. This includes anyone you might have been with prior to or during the alleged abuse and even someone you might have spoken to after the alleged abuse.

A character witness is someone who can testify about another person’s character–either your character or someone else’s character (such as the character of your accuser, for instance). We are usually interested in witnesses who can testify that you are an honest and trustworthy person.

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We will want to get the written statements of all percipient witnesses. After you hire me, I will provide you with a form we will use in our efforts to obtain these written statements.

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We also want to get written statements from character witnesses. After you hire me, I will provide you with another form I have which we will use to obtain the statements of character witnesses as well.

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I need a better idea of the person you are. am sure there are many things that make you a wonderful person. Write them all down for me. Maybe you go to church every Sunday. Maybe you sponsor a child in Africa. Maybe you are the only person your boss trusts with important company documents. Maybe you volunteer to help take care of the elderly and disabled. Whatever it is you want to tell me about yourself that paints you in a positive light, write it down.

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While the brag sheet is all the good stuff, the life story may include things you would not brag about. I want to know about everything in your past (or in your future) that could be relevant to your CACI case.

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How have the allegations against you impacted your life? How has being listed in the CACI changed your life? I’m interested in hearing about the real-life consequences, big or small. Write it all down.

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If you were to lose your CACI case and your name were to stay on the Child Abuse Central Index for the rest of your life, what impact would that have on your life and the lives of your dependents? Whatever the answer, write it down.

The above 8 items of Client Homework are required for my clients. They will help us win your CACI case. Spend the time to work on them. Do not take them lightly. Everyone who hires me must provide these 8 homework assignments. Why? Because so often they have been instrumental in helping get my clients’ names off the CACI.

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