Judge William Fremming Nielsen — Federal Sentencing Patterns
U.S. District Judge William Fremming Nielsen sits in the Eastern District of Washington (EDWA) and granted a downward variance in 170 of 283 federal sentencings (60.1%) from FY2012–FY2024. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge William Fremming Nielsen, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.
Top reasons Judge William Fremming Nielsen grants downward variances
Reasons included across all guideline chapters (170 below-guideline cases out of 283 cases identified)
- 1.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants37-35.5%
- 2.Pursuant to a NONbinding (or unknown type) plea agreement33-35.9%
- 3.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program25-42.8%
- 4.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)19-43.1%
- 5.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse17-44.9%
- 6.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)15-58.6%
- 7.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)15-50.8%
- 8.Remorse14-60.7%
- 9.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities11-54.0%
- 10.Mule/Role in the offense8-65.4%
Zone D sentencing variance — Judge William Fremming Nielsen
Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge William Fremming Nielsen's 217 Zone D sentencings, 141 (65.0%) fell below range.
- Within range63(29.0%)
- Below range141(65.0%)avg −39.1% below min
- Above range13(6.0%)avg +73.5% above max
Need case-level analysis for Judge William Fremming Nielsen?
Want to see what those 170 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 Fremming Nielsen's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.