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# Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:17.000Z
- Description: 67 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 61 (91%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). That is higher than the 42 months for assault across all 94 districts.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) › Assault: District of New Jersey

**In brief:** 67 people were sentenced in the District of New Jersey for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 61 (91%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). That is higher than the 42 months for assault across all 94 districts.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 67 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A High Median Prison Term for Assault

61 of the 67 people (91%) received a prison term, and 6 (9%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). A quarter received 125 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less.

Across all 94 districts, 90% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 42 months. The median in this district was higher.

For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months, also lower than the assault median.

## Aggravated Assault and Intent to Commit Murder

"Assault" is the Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. The most common was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 30 people.

Next was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) with 26, and §2A2.3 (Assault) with 6.

Assault cases were 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district.

## Pleas and Trials

64 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. 88% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 13% were straight pleas.

The median prison term was 73.5 months after a guilty plea and 87 months after a trial. The trial figure comes from 3 people, which is too few to compare.

Across all 94 districts, 93% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

For 62 people, the position against the range is recorded. 44% (27) of sentences were within it, and 42% (26) were below it at the government's request. 11% (7) were below it without a request, and 3% (2) were above it.

For assault across all 94 districts, 48% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 37% were.

A mandatory minimum applied to 13 of the 64 people with that information recorded (20%).

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

58 people (87%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (9%), and restitution for 8 (12%).

## Prior Record

26% of the group had the least prior record (criminal history category I), and 18% had the most (category VI). Military courts do not score this measure in court-martial records.

## More People Sentenced in Later Years

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 16 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 51\. The table lists yearly counts from 1 to 12 people.

The medians swing widely between years, from 0.7 months to 180 months. With so few people in each year, these figures do not show a trend, and the records do not explain them.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 3                | 24 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2017        | 8                | 83.5 months   | 8 of 8         |
| 2018        | 4                | 0.7 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 3                | 180 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 6                | 30 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2022        | 7                | 22.5 months   | 7 of 7         |
| 2023        | 11               | 56 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 12               | 123.5 months  | 92%            |
| 2025        | 12               | 84.5 months   | 83%            |

## What Is Not in These Numbers

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are missing, and the prison terms are those ordered, not time served.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is in New Jersey. Its courts-martial are tried in military courts, and this post uses federal numbers only.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (67). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.