Judge John R. Tunheim — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim sits in the District of Minnesota (DMN) and granted a downward variance in 240 of 328 federal sentencings (73.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge John R. Tunheim, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge John R. Tunheim grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (240 below-guideline cases out of 328 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)124-37.4%
  2. 2.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)77-45.8%
  3. 3.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities62-39.7%
  4. 4.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse61-38.4%
  5. 5.Lack of Youthful Guidance57-30.7%
  6. 6.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants56-34.7%
  7. 7.Acceptance of responsibility46-48.2%
  8. 8.Mule/Role in the offense44-46.5%
  9. 9.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance41-37.2%
  10. 10.Remorse37-39.1%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge John R. Tunheim

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge John R. Tunheim's 296 Zone D sentencings, 222 (75.0%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended296 cases
  • Within range
    66(22.3%)
  • Below range
    222(75.0%)
    avg −35.9% below min
  • Above range
    8(2.7%)
    avg +20.0% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge John R. Tunheim?

Want to see what those 240 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 R. Tunheim's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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