Judge Dana Sabraw — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw sits in the Southern District of California (SDCA) and granted a downward variance in 641 of 799 federal sentencings (80.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Dana Sabraw, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Dana Sabraw grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (641 below-guideline cases out of 799 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program357-45.5%
  2. 2.Waiver of appeal167-54.5%
  3. 3.Early Plea151-56.5%
  4. 4.Acceptance of responsibility149-54.3%
  5. 5.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants147-44.9%
  6. 6.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance138-48.4%
  7. 7.Waiver of indictment122-57.1%
  8. 8.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities37-61.0%
  9. 9.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)29-54.6%
  10. 10.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)28-54.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Dana Sabraw

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Dana Sabraw's 601 Zone D sentencings, 503 (83.7%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended601 cases
  • Within range
    91(15.1%)
  • Below range
    503(83.7%)
    avg −42.7% below min
  • Above range
    7(1.2%)
    avg +44.0% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Dana Sabraw?

Want to see what those 641 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 Sabraw's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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