Judge Karen K. Caldwell — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell sits in the Eastern District of Kentucky (EDKY) and granted a downward variance in 292 of 624 federal sentencings (46.8%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Karen K. Caldwell, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Karen K. Caldwell grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (292 below-guideline cases out of 624 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities33-43.5%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)24-36.0%
  3. 3.Mule/Role in the offense23-43.2%
  4. 4.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)23-29.6%
  5. 5.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)23-25.8%
  6. 6.Acceptance of responsibility15-37.2%
  7. 7.Proposed changes to the 2D1.1 drug quantity table15-29.1%
  8. 8.(5H1.5) Previous employment record14-41.5%
  9. 9.Remorse14-29.5%
  10. 10.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse14-28.8%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Karen K. Caldwell

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Karen K. Caldwell's 521 Zone D sentencings, 251 (48.2%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended521 cases
  • Within range
    255(48.9%)
  • Below range
    251(48.2%)
    avg −29.9% below min
  • Above range
    15(2.9%)
    avg +63.8% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Karen K. Caldwell?

Want to see what those 292 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 Karen K. Caldwell's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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