Judge David C. Godbey — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey sits in the Northern District of Texas (NDTX) and granted a downward variance in 35 of 138 federal sentencings (25.4%) from FY2017–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge David C. Godbey, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge David C. Godbey grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (35 below-guideline cases out of 138 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Mule/Role in the offense5-36.4%
  2. 2.Policy Disagreement with the Guidelines (Kimbrough v. U.S. 552 U.S. 85 (2007)5-21.8%
  3. 3.Non-Crack Drug Table Disparity5-18.7%
  4. 4.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)4-32.5%
  5. 5.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)3-74.3%
  6. 6.Time Served3-35.0%
  7. 7.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities3-30.8%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge David C. Godbey

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge David C. Godbey's 108 Zone D sentencings, 28 (25.9%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended108 cases
  • Within range
    71(65.7%)
  • Below range
    28(25.9%)
    avg −23.1% below min
  • Above range
    9(8.3%)
    avg +40.7% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge David C. Godbey?

Want to see what those 35 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 David C. Godbey's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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