Judge Joe Billy McDade — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade sits in the Central District of Illinois (CDIL) and granted a downward variance in 59 of 134 federal sentencings (44.0%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Joe Billy McDade, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Joe Billy McDade grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (59 below-guideline cases out of 134 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)30-29.6%
  2. 2.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities8-52.7%
  3. 3.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants7-40.6%
  4. 4.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement7-34.8%
  5. 5.(5H1.5) Previous employment record6-51.3%
  6. 6.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)6-40.1%
  7. 7.Rehabilitation6-35.3%
  8. 8.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)4-51.3%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Joe Billy McDade

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Joe Billy McDade's 119 Zone D sentencings, 52 (43.7%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended119 cases
  • Within range
    60(50.4%)
  • Below range
    52(43.7%)
    avg −35.2% below min
  • Above range
    7(5.9%)
    avg +56.8% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Joe Billy McDade?

Want to see what those 59 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 Joe Billy McDade's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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