Charge-conditioned comparables from the USSC public datafile, every claim cited to the source vintage. Hand it to your client tomorrow. Attach it to the § 3553(a) memorandum.
This sample brief covers Offense Level 24, Criminal History Category III — a mid-range cell that appears frequently in drug-distribution and firearm matters. The brief demonstrates how the full USSC distribution (691 cases) compares to the JSIN-reported cell (312 cases), with the 379-case delta broken down by exclusion type: non-imprisonment sentences, cooperation departures, and mandatory-minimum-controlled sentences. Each row is sourced to the USSC public datafile.
Your client's sentencing is in three weeks. The PSR cites a JSIN median that's inflated by design. The AUSA's office has a sentencing analyst on staff. You don't. Your options: burn 4 hours pulling dockets from PACER and hand the court an uncited spreadsheet, or walk in with the AUSA's recommendation as the only number on the table. BenchRecon is the third option.
JSIN — the judiciary's own tool — suppresses cells when fewer than 3 cases match and excludes non-imprisonment sentences, 5K1.1 cooperators, and mandatory-minimum-controlled cases from the published figures. The omissions systematically inflate the range your client sees in the PSR.
BenchRecon pulls from the full 690K-case USSC matview, restored and charge-conditioned, every claim cited to the datafile vintage it was drawn from. The brief is an exhibit — not a summary, not an opinion, not LLM-generated prose.
Walk into your AUSA negotiation tomorrow with the printed sentencing distribution, departure-rate table, and Booker-variance benchmark. Hand a copy to your client. Bill it as a line item.
Hand the comparables table to the probation officer. Anchor the §5K1.1 cooperator restoration so the recommended range reflects the full universe.
Quote the restored median against JSIN’s published median. Cite the USSC vintage on every figure — the AUSA cannot object to internet sourcing.
Cite the departure rate to support § 3553(a)(6) parity. Cite the by-district comparison if your district is harsher than the national distribution.
You're 2 hours from filing a sentencing memo and JSIN's median is killing your variance argument.
Your client is asking what other people got and you don't have time to pull PACER.
The AUSA's office has a sentencing analyst on staff. You don't.
“The most important numbers that JSIN reports — the average and median sentences for a particular position on the sentencing table — are inflated by a series of choices to exclude large chunks of the commission's own dataset.”
Brian D. Roth, Carlton Fields (2021) — source
“The fact that lower sentences are omitted, and the data only goes back five years shows that any judge who is utilizing this tool is receiving inaccurate data.”
Interrogating Justice (2021) — source
“No one has put together a reliable comparison of the convictions and acquittals in all of the country's judicial districts before and after the establishment of defender offices.”
David Patton, former Federal Defender SDNY/EDNY — source
“What's your error rate? Well, we don't have one. What's your measurement error? We don't have any.”
Barry Scheck, Innocence Project co-founder (on cross-examining ballistics experts) — source
“Crushing caseloads and too few resources made it impossible for public defenders to provide adequate representation.”
Jonathan Rapping, Gideon's Promise founder; 2014 MacArthur Fellow — source
Beta — federal CD attorneys, May 2026
BenchRecon launched April 2026. Public testimonials post-beta.
Federal CD attorney in N.D. Cal., W.D. Wash., or D. Or.? Reach out for a free pilot brief in exchange for feedback: support@benchrecon.com
Single-case federal sentencing-comparables brief, USSC-grounded, every claim cited to the USSC public datafile.
Walk into your AUSA negotiation tomorrow with the printed sentencing distribution, departure-rate table, and Booker-variance benchmark. Hand a copy to your client. Bill it as a line item.
What JSIN drops from the cell that controls your client's sentence — non-imprisonment, 5K1.1, mandatory-minimum inflation, >5-year-old data — restored and quantified.
Attach the brief as an exhibit to your § 3553(a) sentencing memorandum. Use the included § 3006A motion language to request expert funds. Cite the restored slices when the PSR leans on JSIN's inflated median.
We're shipping the USSC data layer in May 2026. Join the waitlist with your email and we'll send you a pilot Sentencing Snapshot for one of your federal cases at no charge — and a $50 credit toward your first paid brief.
Every claim in a BenchRecon brief traces to the USSC public datafile vintage from which it was drawn. Read the methodology →