Judge Sara Lynn Darrow — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Sara Lynn Darrow sits in the Central District of Illinois (CDIL) and granted a downward variance in 147 of 315 federal sentencings (46.7%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Sara Lynn Darrow, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Sara Lynn Darrow grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (147 below-guideline cases out of 315 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)49-26.7%
  2. 2.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)27-27.7%
  3. 3.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)26-25.8%
  4. 4.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants21-36.6%
  5. 5.Rehabilitation15-53.4%
  6. 6.Cooperation without motion (not §5K1.1) (aggregated reason)11-43.2%
  7. 7.Mule/Role in the offense11-39.7%
  8. 8.General Guideline Adequacy Issues (aggregated reason)11-37.8%
  9. 9.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance11-29.3%
  10. 10.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement10-27.9%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Sara Lynn Darrow

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Sara Lynn Darrow's 281 Zone D sentencings, 137 (48.8%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended281 cases
  • Within range
    115(40.9%)
  • Below range
    137(48.8%)
    avg −28.2% below min
  • Above range
    29(10.3%)
    avg +53.4% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Sara Lynn Darrow?

Want to see what those 147 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 Sara Lynn Darrow's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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