Judge David Cleveland Joseph — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge David Cleveland Joseph sits in the Western District of Louisiana (WDLA) and granted a downward variance in 19 of 73 federal sentencings (26.0%) from FY2022–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge David Cleveland Joseph, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge David Cleveland Joseph grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (19 below-guideline cases out of 73 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)9-56.9%
  2. 2.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities8-65.8%
  3. 3.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse6-46.6%
  4. 4.Nonviolent Offense5-46.2%
  5. 5.Acceptance of responsibility5-38.8%
  6. 6.(5H1.6) Community ties3-65.1%
  7. 7.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)3-61.1%
  8. 8.Lack of Youthful Guidance3-49.4%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge David Cleveland Joseph

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge David Cleveland Joseph's 59 Zone D sentencings, 17 (28.8%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended59 cases
  • Within range
    39(66.1%)
  • Below range
    17(28.8%)
    avg −34.7% below min
  • Above range
    3(5.1%)
    avg +63.5% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge David Cleveland Joseph?

Want to see what those 19 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 Cleveland Joseph's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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