Judge James Lawrence King — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King sits in the Southern District of Florida (SDFL) and granted a downward variance in 71 of 201 federal sentencings (35.3%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge James Lawrence King, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge James Lawrence King grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (71 below-guideline cases out of 201 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities13-59.9%
  2. 2.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)7-41.5%
  3. 3.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants6-61.2%
  4. 4.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)6-34.3%
  5. 5.Provide Restitution to any victims of the offense5-100.0%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record5-68.3%
  7. 7.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)4-89.4%
  8. 8.Party Motion /Agreement /Consent (Reason Unspecified)4-82.4%
  9. 9.(5H1.6) Community ties4-77.1%
  10. 10.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)4-19.4%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge James Lawrence King

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge James Lawrence King's 152 Zone D sentencings, 47 (30.9%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended152 cases
  • Within range
    102(67.1%)
  • Below range
    47(30.9%)
    avg −40.5% below min
  • Above range
    3(2.0%)

Need case-level analysis for Judge James Lawrence King?

Want to see what those 71 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 Lawrence King's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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