Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025
The District of Montana sentenced 237 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 205 of them were sentenced under the aggravated assault guideline. The median prison term was 29 months (2.4 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 › Assault: District of Montana
In brief: The District of Montana sentenced 237 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 205 of them were sentenced under the aggravated assault guideline. The median prison term was 29 months (2.4 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 237 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Aggravated Assault Was the Main Guideline
The most common primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 205 people. Another 28 were sentenced under §2A2.3 (Assault), 2 under §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), and 1 under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Assault cases were 7% of the 3,524 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The Commission's offense type is called "Assault."
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
A prison term was imposed on 223 of the 237 people (94%), and 14 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 29 months. A quarter received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
In all districts, 7,573 people were sentenced for assault, 90% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 42 months. The Montana median is lower. The median for all offenses in Montana was 40 months.
Sentences Above and Below the Range
Of the 237 people, 96 (41%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 23 (10%) received a term below the range at the government's request, and 102 (43%) received a term below it without that request. A total of 16 people (7%) were sentenced above the range.
In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Montana, the share was 33%. The above-range share in this group is larger than in the district's drug trafficking or firearms cases.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 220 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 28 months after a guilty plea and 41 months after a trial, based on 16 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among the guilty pleas, 71% had a written plea agreement, and 29% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 of the 236 people with that information recorded (6%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 222 people (94%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 22 (9%).
In criminal history category I, the lowest, 60% of the group were placed, and 3% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 93 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 144 people. The table shows a low of 16 people in 2023 and a high of 40 in 2024. Yearly medians rest on these small counts and do not by themselves show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 33 | 31 months | 88% |
| 2017 | 19 | 24 months | 89% |
| 2018 | 17 | 25 months | 88% |
| 2019 | 24 | 31.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 23 | 29 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 20 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 20 | 40 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 16 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 40 | 36 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 25 | 24 months | 88% |
Limits of the Data
Malmstrom AFB, Montana, is in this district, and courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. These figures cover federal court only.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not describe any injury or the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Montana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Montana") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (237). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.