Judge James L. Graham — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge James L. Graham sits in the Southern District of Ohio (SDOH) and granted a downward variance in 114 of 215 federal sentencings (53.0%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge James L. Graham, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge James L. Graham grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (114 below-guideline cases out of 215 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)40-65.0%
  2. 2.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities36-56.2%
  3. 3.Low Likelihood of Recidivism14-56.1%
  4. 4.Lack of Youthful Guidance14-45.8%
  5. 5.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse13-44.8%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record12-56.6%
  7. 7.(5K2.20) Aberrant Behavior12-53.9%
  8. 8.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement12-46.5%
  9. 9.Mule/Role in the offense10-62.0%
  10. 10.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)10-61.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge James L. Graham

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge James L. Graham's 169 Zone D sentencings, 95 (56.2%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended169 cases
  • Within range
    69(40.8%)
  • Below range
    95(56.2%)
    avg −44.9% below min
  • Above range
    5(3.0%)
    avg +15.2% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge James L. Graham?

Want to see what those 114 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 L. Graham's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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