Judge David J. Hale — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge David J. Hale sits in the Western District of Kentucky (WDKY) and granted a downward variance in 107 of 207 federal sentencings (51.7%) from FY2015–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge David J. Hale, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge David J. Hale grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (107 below-guideline cases out of 207 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse26-24.7%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)25-27.7%
  3. 3.Lack of Youthful Guidance19-15.0%
  4. 4.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)18-28.7%
  5. 5.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)15-27.4%
  6. 6.(5H1.4) Physical condition14-34.8%
  7. 7.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)14-27.4%
  8. 8.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities11-51.1%
  9. 9.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance9-36.8%
  10. 10.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement9-30.6%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge David J. Hale

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge David J. Hale's 167 Zone D sentencings, 88 (52.7%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended167 cases
  • Within range
    72(43.1%)
  • Below range
    88(52.7%)
    avg −25.9% below min
  • Above range
    7(4.2%)
    avg +38.8% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge David J. Hale?

Want to see what those 107 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 J. Hale's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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