Judge Jay C. Zainey — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sits in the Eastern District of Louisiana (EDLA) and granted a downward variance in 73 of 201 federal sentencings (36.3%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Jay C. Zainey, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Jay C. Zainey grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (73 below-guideline cases out of 201 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)22-63.6%
  2. 2.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities15-66.9%
  3. 3.Nonviolent Offense13-61.7%
  4. 4.Provide Restitution to any victims of the offense12-68.7%
  5. 5.Acceptance of responsibility12-47.1%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record11-64.2%
  7. 7.Remorse11-49.7%
  8. 8.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants10-45.4%
  9. 9.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)9-63.3%
  10. 10.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)9-29.5%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Jay C. Zainey

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Jay C. Zainey's 142 Zone D sentencings, 48 (33.8%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended142 cases
  • Within range
    83(58.5%)
  • Below range
    48(33.8%)
    avg −39.3% below min
  • Above range
    11(7.7%)
    avg +64.0% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Jay C. Zainey?

Want to see what those 73 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 Jay C. Zainey's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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