Judge Leonie Brinkema — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema sits in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and granted a downward variance in 300 of 467 federal sentencings (64.2%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Leonie Brinkema, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Leonie Brinkema grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (300 below-guideline cases out of 467 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)86-44.4%
  2. 2.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)63-47.6%
  3. 3.Mule/Role in the offense54-45.3%
  4. 4.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)46-48.3%
  5. 5.Acceptance of responsibility40-53.8%
  6. 6.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities30-67.0%
  7. 7.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)29-65.2%
  8. 8.(5H1.4) Physical condition20-64.3%
  9. 9.Early Plea20-49.6%
  10. 10.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)17-44.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Leonie Brinkema

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Leonie Brinkema's 350 Zone D sentencings, 257 (73.4%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended350 cases
  • Within range
    84(24.0%)
  • Below range
    257(73.4%)
    avg −45.2% below min
  • Above range
    9(2.6%)
    avg +52.3% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Leonie Brinkema?

Want to see what those 300 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 Leonie Brinkema's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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