Judge William Q. Hayes — Federal Sentencing Patterns

U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes sits in the Southern District of California (SDCA) and granted a downward variance in 594 of 749 federal sentencings (79.3%) from FY2012–FY2025. This page shows aggregate sentencing patterns for Judge William Q. Hayes, including the most common reasons cited on the Statement of Reasons (SOR) for granting a downward variance.

Top reasons Judge William Q. Hayes grants downward variances

Reasons included across all guideline chapters (594 below-guideline cases out of 749 cases identified)

ReasonCasesAvg % Below Min
  1. 1.(5K3.1) Early Disposition. Fast Track program406-41.9%
  2. 2.Criminal History Issues (aggregated reason)145-49.6%
  3. 3.(5H1.1) Age (Defendant's youth or old age)80-49.1%
  4. 4.COVID-19/pandemic72-52.6%
  5. 5.(5H1.6) Family ties and responsibilities52-51.3%
  6. 6.(5H1.5) Previous employment record35-59.9%
  7. 7.Avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants21-41.4%
  8. 8.(5K2.20) Aberrant Behavior20-68.9%
  9. 9.(5H1.4) Physical condition19-57.3%
  10. 10.(5K2.0) General aggravating or mitigating circumstance19-48.7%

Zone D sentencing variance — Judge William Q. Hayes

Imprisonment-only recommended sentencing zone (offense level 14+ at any criminal history). Of Judge William Q. Hayes's 598 Zone D sentencings, 498 (83.3%) fell below range.

Zone D · imprisonment recommended598 cases
  • Within range
    98(16.4%)
  • Below range
    498(83.3%)
    avg −39.4% below min
  • Above range
    2(0.3%)
    avg +40.0% above max

Need case-level analysis for Judge William Q. Hayes?

Want to see what those 594 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 Q. Hayes's trial tax (sentences after trial vs. plea) and the average §5K1.1 cooperation discount.

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