Judge William Orrick III — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge William Orrick III sits in the Northern District of California (NDCA) and granted a downward variance in 90 of 125 federal sentencings (72.0%) from FY2014–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge William Orrick III, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge William Orrick III grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (90 below-guideline cases out of 125 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities38-50.8%
  2. 2.(5H1.4) Drug dependence and alcohol abuse35-44.4%
  3. 3.Lack of Youthful Guidance34-40.4%
  4. 4.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)22-53.5%
  5. 5.Rehabilitation22-53.1%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record18-65.1%
  7. 7.Mental and Emotional Conditions (aggregated reason)18-52.0%
  8. 8.Reduce Disparity (aggregated reason)17-49.2%
  9. 9.(5H1.4) Physical condition14-55.0%
  10. 10.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)13-46.4%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge William Orrick III

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge William Orrick III's 111 Zone D sentencings, 82 (73.9%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended111 cases
  • Within range
    26(23.4%)
  • Below range
    82(73.9%)
    avg −43.2% below min
  • Above range
    3(2.7%)
    avg +80.5% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge William Orrick III?

Want to see what those 90 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 Orrick III's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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