Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan sits in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) and granted a downward variance in 23 of 47 federal sentencings (48.9%) from FY2020–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (23 below-guideline cases out of 47 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Remorse15-46.7%
  2. 2.Acceptance of responsibility14-50.9%
  3. 3.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities9-55.0%
  4. 4.Rehabilitation9-36.6%
  5. 5.Conduct on Release/Bond/Supervision8-56.7%
  6. 6.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)5-62.7%
  7. 7.(5H1.6) Community ties5-45.7%
  8. 8.Lack of Youthful Guidance5-15.3%
  9. 9.Nonviolent Offense4-76.5%
  10. 10.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement3-95.8%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan's 39 Zone D sentencings, 18 (46.2%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended39 cases
  • Within range
    13(33.3%)
  • Below range
    18(46.2%)
    avg −28.0% below min
  • Above range
    8(20.5%)
    avg +41.1% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan?

Want to see what those 23 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 J. Nicholas Ranjan's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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