Judge Denise Cote — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote sits in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and granted a downward variance in 106 of 207 federal sentencings (51.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Denise Cote, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Denise Cote grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (106 below-guideline cases out of 207 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)22-51.4%
  2. 2.Mule/Role in the offense21-52.8%
  3. 3.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)20-39.2%
  4. 4.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities13-50.8%
  5. 5.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)10-55.5%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record9-67.1%
  7. 7.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)9-50.9%
  8. 8.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants8-37.4%
  9. 9.COVID-19/pandemic7-36.5%
  10. 10.Low Likelihood of Recidivism6-68.1%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Denise Cote

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Denise Cote's 177 Zone D sentencings, 95 (53.7%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended177 cases
  • Within range
    77(43.5%)
  • Below range
    95(53.7%)
    avg −42.7% below min
  • Above range
    5(2.8%)
    avg +65.4% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Denise Cote?

Want to see what those 106 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 Denise Cote's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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