Judge Thomas J. Whelan — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan sits in the Southern District of California (SDCA) and granted a downward variance in 27 of 35 federal sentencings (77.1%) from FY2018–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge Thomas J. Whelan, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge Thomas J. Whelan grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (27 below-guideline cases out of 35 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program18-54.7%
  2. 2.COVID-19/pandemic10-53.3%
  3. 3.Waiver of appeal10-48.6%
  4. 4.Waiver of indictment7-54.2%
  5. 5.Early Plea7-48.8%
  6. 6.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance7-37.5%
  7. 7.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)6-54.4%
  8. 8.Acceptance of responsibility3-62.2%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge Thomas J. Whelan

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge Thomas J. Whelan's 23 Zone D sentencings, 18 (78.3%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended23 cases
  • Within range
    4(17.4%)
  • Below range
    18(78.3%)
    avg −43.7% below min
  • Above range
    1(4.3%)
    avg +24.4% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge Thomas J. Whelan?

Want to see what those 27 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 Thomas J. Whelan's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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