Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025
128 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 24 months, compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. 84% received a prison term and 15% received probation only.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 › Assault: District of Nebraska
In brief: 128 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 24 months, compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. 84% received a prison term and 15% received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 128 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.
Assault Cases Carried Shorter Terms Than the Nationwide Median
Among the 107 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months, or 2 years. A quarter received 36.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For assault in all districts, the median was 42 months.
The median for every offense in the District of Nebraska was 57 months. Assault cases here were therefore lower than both comparison figures.
Probation Was Used More Often Than Nationwide
19 people (15%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all districts, 90% of people sentenced for assault were sent to prison, compared with 84% in this district.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 127 people with that information recorded (2%).
The Guidelines Behind These Cases
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category, and each case is sorted by its primary guideline. The most common was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) with 93 people. Next came §2A2.3 (Assault) with 30 and §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) with 4.
Assault made up 3% of the 4,887 people sentenced in the district during the 10 fiscal years.
Median Terms by Fiscal Year
The fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September. In the yearly table, the median prison term was 12 months in fiscal year 2016 and 37 months in fiscal year 2023.
63 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 65 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Counts in the later years are 6 to 16 people a year, which is small. A year-to-year change in the median could come from a few cases.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 20 | 18 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 13 | 16.5 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 13 | 18 months | 85% |
| 2020 | 15 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 16 | 30 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 13 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 7 | 37 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 33 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2025 | 6 | 24 months | 6 of 6 |
Guilty Pleas and Trials
123 of the 128 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 90 months after a trial, based on 5 people.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas. For all offenses in the district, 97% pleaded guilty, and for assault in all districts the figure was 93%.
Position Against the Guideline Range
59 sentences (46%) were within the guideline range. 46 (36%) were below it at the government's request, and 16 (13%) were below it without a government request. 7 (5%) were above the range.
In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, the same share as for all offenses in this district.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
106 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 13 people (10%), and a fine for 1.
43% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 5% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What Cannot Be Read From These Records
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and no case facts are included.
Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is in this district. Military trials are held in military courts, so none of these figures describe courts-martial.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nebraska (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nebraska") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (128). 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 Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nebraska, 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.