Judge John Garvan Murtha — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge John Garvan Murtha sits in the District of Vermont (DVT) and granted a downward variance in 89 of 121 federal sentencings (73.6%) from FY2012–FY2017. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge John Garvan Murtha, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge John Garvan Murtha grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (89 below-guideline cases out of 121 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance29-69.3%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)29-55.8%
  3. 3.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities17-68.8%
  4. 4.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse17-65.5%
  5. 5.(5H1.5) Previous employment record14-58.9%
  6. 6.Rehabilitation13-78.6%
  7. 7.Lack of Youthful Guidance11-50.9%
  8. 8.Mule/Role in the offense10-68.6%
  9. 9.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement9-36.0%
  10. 10.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)8-64.4%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge John Garvan Murtha

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge John Garvan Murtha's 94 Zone D sentencings, 71 (75.5%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended94 cases
  • Within range
    21(22.3%)
  • Below range
    71(75.5%)
    avg −54.4% below min
  • Above range
    2(2.1%)
    avg +15.6% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge John Garvan Murtha?

Want to see what those 89 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 Garvan Murtha's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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