Judge William E. Smith — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge William E. Smith sits in the District of Rhode Island (DRI) and granted a downward variance in 242 of 367 federal sentencings (65.9%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge William E. Smith, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge William E. Smith grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (242 below-guideline cases out of 367 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)39-44.7%
  2. 2.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants16-31.3%
  3. 3.General Guideline Adequacy Issues (aggregated reason)15-49.4%
  4. 4.Mule/Role in the offense13-33.5%
  5. 5.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)12-34.6%
  6. 6.Provide Restitution to any victims of the offense10-58.9%
  7. 7.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities9-30.9%
  8. 8.Deportation8-26.0%
  9. 9.Time Served7-100.0%
  10. 10.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement7-61.5%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge William E. Smith

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge William E. Smith's 316 Zone D sentencings, 217 (68.7%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended316 cases
  • Within range
    96(30.4%)
  • Below range
    217(68.7%)
    avg −44.5% below min
  • Above range
    3(0.9%)

Need case-level analysis for Judge William E. Smith?

Want to see what those 242 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 William E. Smith's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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