Judge Frank R. Zapata — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Frank R. Zapata sits in the District of Arizona (DAZ) and granted a downward variance in 70 of 97 federal sentencings (72.2%) from FY2012–FY2020. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Frank R. Zapata, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Frank R. Zapata grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (70 below-guideline cases out of 97 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program44-42.3%
  2. 2.Mule/Role in the offense12-59.2%
  3. 3.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)12-50.8%
  4. 4.Acceptance of responsibility10-66.6%
  5. 5.Waiver of appeal10-61.5%
  6. 6.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities10-52.7%
  7. 7.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants10-33.3%
  8. 8.Early Plea9-62.3%
  9. 9.Remorse9-54.1%
  10. 10.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance9-38.0%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Frank R. Zapata

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Frank R. Zapata's 68 Zone D sentencings, 56 (82.4%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended68 cases
  • Within range
    12(17.6%)
  • Below range
    56(82.4%)
    avg −42.1% below min
  • Above range
    0(0.0%)

Need case-level analysis for Judge Frank R. Zapata?

Want to see what those 70 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 Frank R. Zapata's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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