Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow sits in the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL) and granted a downward variance in 11 of 12 federal sentencings (91.7%) from FY2013–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (11 below-guideline cases out of 12 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Remorse6-74.7%
  2. 2.Acceptance of responsibility6-63.3%
  3. 3.Provide Restitution to any victims of the offense5-73.9%
  4. 4.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)4-77.6%
  5. 5.Early Plea4-69.2%
  6. 6.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)4-67.6%
  7. 7.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)4-56.0%
  8. 8.Waiver of appeal4-50.7%
  9. 9.Nonviolent Offense3-88.2%
  10. 10.Conduct on Release/Bond/Supervision3-85.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow's 11 Zone D sentencings, 11 (100.0%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended11 cases
  • Within range
    0(0.0%)
  • Below range
    11(100.0%)
    avg −60.6% below min
  • Above range
    0(0.0%)

Need case-level analysis for Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow?

Want to see what those 11 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 Joan Humphrey Lefkow's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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