Judge James D. Peterson — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sits in the Western District of Wisconsin (WDWI) and granted a downward variance in 264 of 393 federal sentencings (67.2%) from FY2014–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge James D. Peterson, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge James D. Peterson grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (264 below-guideline cases out of 393 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)101-47.1%
  2. 2.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)85-40.4%
  3. 3.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)52-38.8%
  4. 4.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities48-54.3%
  5. 5.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse45-39.5%
  6. 6.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)37-48.1%
  7. 7.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance33-41.7%
  8. 8.Lack of Youthful Guidance30-35.1%
  9. 9.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants29-48.0%
  10. 10.Mule/Role in the offense26-56.2%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge James D. Peterson

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge James D. Peterson's 338 Zone D sentencings, 238 (70.4%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended338 cases
  • Within range
    94(27.8%)
  • Below range
    238(70.4%)
    avg −39.1% below min
  • Above range
    6(1.8%)
    avg +34.7% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge James D. Peterson?

Want to see what those 264 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 James D. Peterson's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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