Judge David C. Norton — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge David C. Norton sits in the District of South Carolina (DSC) and granted a downward variance in 96 of 199 federal sentencings (48.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge David C. Norton, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge David C. Norton grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (96 below-guideline cases out of 199 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities21-75.6%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)16-58.7%
  3. 3.(5H1.5) Previous employment record10-65.7%
  4. 4.(5K2.20) Aberrant Behavior10-59.6%
  5. 5.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance10-59.0%
  6. 6.Mule/Role in the offense9-71.4%
  7. 7.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)9-67.7%
  8. 8.Remorse8-74.6%
  9. 9.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants8-49.8%
  10. 10.Conduct on Release/Bond/Supervision7-68.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge David C. Norton

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge David C. Norton's 150 Zone D sentencings, 78 (52.0%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended150 cases
  • Within range
    69(46.0%)
  • Below range
    78(52.0%)
    avg −56.9% below min
  • Above range
    3(2.0%)
    avg +105.1% above max

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

Want to see what those 96 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. Norton's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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