Judge Dana L. Christensen — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sits in the District of Montana (DMT) and granted a downward variance in 244 of 374 federal sentencings (65.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Dana L. Christensen, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Dana L. Christensen grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (244 below-guideline cases out of 374 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities131-56.8%
  2. 2.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse116-43.5%
  3. 3.(5H1.5) Previous employment record113-54.1%
  4. 4.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)90-60.7%
  5. 5.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)66-50.0%
  6. 6.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)49-44.0%
  7. 7.Acceptance of responsibility48-57.8%
  8. 8.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)48-41.8%
  9. 9.Remorse46-50.2%
  10. 10.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants44-54.2%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Dana L. Christensen

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Dana L. Christensen's 311 Zone D sentencings, 222 (71.4%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended311 cases
  • Within range
    87(28.0%)
  • Below range
    222(71.4%)
    avg −47.2% below min
  • Above range
    2(0.6%)
    avg +86.8% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Dana L. Christensen?

Want to see what those 244 below-guideline cases actually looked like? Just Metrics shows you the actual matched cases — same judge, same guideline chapter, same guideline range — and tells you what they did.

Just Metrics also surfaces Judge Dana L. Christensen's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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