Judge Paul A. Magnuson — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson sits in the District of Minnesota (DMN) and granted a downward variance in 82 of 153 federal sentencings (53.6%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Paul A. Magnuson, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Paul A. Magnuson grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (82 below-guideline cases out of 153 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Provide Restitution to any victims of the offense17-38.5%
  2. 2.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants15-25.0%
  3. 3.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)13-39.9%
  4. 4.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)11-25.6%
  5. 5.Rehabilitation8-48.7%
  6. 6.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities8-35.1%
  7. 7.Acceptance of responsibility8-31.6%
  8. 8.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)5-55.2%
  9. 9.(5H1.4) Physical condition4-65.1%
  10. 10.Mule/Role in the offense4-30.9%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Paul A. Magnuson

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Paul A. Magnuson's 135 Zone D sentencings, 75 (55.6%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended135 cases
  • Within range
    58(43.0%)
  • Below range
    75(55.6%)
    avg −27.6% below min
  • Above range
    2(1.5%)
    avg +11.7% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Paul A. Magnuson?

Want to see what those 82 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 Paul A. Magnuson's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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