Judge Kenneth M. Karas — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas sits in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and granted a downward variance in 157 of 243 federal sentencings (64.6%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Kenneth M. Karas, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Kenneth M. Karas grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (157 below-guideline cases out of 243 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities68-46.4%
  2. 2.Rehabilitation32-45.7%
  3. 3.Mule/Role in the offense24-44.3%
  4. 4.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)24-36.0%
  5. 5.(5H1.5) Previous employment record22-51.5%
  6. 6.(5H1.6) Community ties17-45.8%
  7. 7.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)17-36.6%
  8. 8.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)14-58.1%
  9. 9.Lack of Youthful Guidance12-31.0%
  10. 10.Low Likelihood of Recidivism8-61.6%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Kenneth M. Karas

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Kenneth M. Karas's 201 Zone D sentencings, 137 (68.2%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended201 cases
  • Within range
    56(27.9%)
  • Below range
    137(68.2%)
    avg −41.6% below min
  • Above range
    8(4.0%)
    avg +27.8% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Kenneth M. Karas?

Want to see what those 157 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 Kenneth M. Karas's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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