Judge Derrick Watson — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson sits in the District of Hawaii (DHI) and granted a downward variance in 86 of 194 federal sentencings (44.3%) from FY2013–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Derrick Watson, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Derrick Watson grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (86 below-guideline cases out of 194 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities48-31.7%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)29-27.0%
  3. 3.Remorse29-26.0%
  4. 4.(5H1.5) Previous employment record27-32.8%
  5. 5.Acceptance of responsibility25-34.4%
  6. 6.Rehabilitation22-27.5%
  7. 7.Conduct on Release/Bond/Supervision19-32.0%
  8. 8.Nonviolent Offense14-40.0%
  9. 9.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)13-21.5%
  10. 10.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)12-27.2%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Derrick Watson

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Derrick Watson's 155 Zone D sentencings, 72 (46.5%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended155 cases
  • Within range
    78(50.3%)
  • Below range
    72(46.5%)
    avg −26.6% below min
  • Above range
    5(3.2%)
    avg +49.5% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Derrick Watson?

Want to see what those 86 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 Derrick Watson's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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