Judge John A. Houston — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge John A. Houston sits in the Southern District of California (SDCA) and granted a downward variance in 586 of 732 federal sentencings (80.1%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge John A. Houston, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge John A. Houston grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (586 below-guideline cases out of 732 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program278-51.5%
  2. 2.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance72-53.4%
  3. 3.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)72-44.7%
  4. 4.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities71-55.9%
  5. 5.(5K2.20) Aberrant Behavior63-58.6%
  6. 6.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)57-57.5%
  7. 7.Rehabilitation40-57.0%
  8. 8.(5H1.5) Previous employment record35-66.7%
  9. 9.(5H1.4) Physical condition21-70.3%
  10. 10.Unspecified government motion (Not 5K1.1 or 5K3.1)21-47.8%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge John A. Houston

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge John A. Houston's 567 Zone D sentencings, 501 (88.4%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended567 cases
  • Within range
    59(10.4%)
  • Below range
    501(88.4%)
    avg −44.9% below min
  • Above range
    7(1.2%)
    avg +9.2% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge John A. Houston?

Want to see what those 586 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 John A. Houston's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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