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# Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:37:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:37:20.000Z
- Description: 345 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 317 (92%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 37 months. The national median for this offense type was 42 months.
- 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 Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) › Assault: District of New Mexico

**In brief:** 345 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 317 (92%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 37 months. The national median for this offense type was 42 months.

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 345 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/).

## Aggravated Assault Is the Main Guideline

The Commission lists one primary guideline per case. §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) was listed for 289 cases. §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) was listed for 23, and §2A2.3 (Assault) for 13.

One case used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact). Assault cases were 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district in these years.

## Prison, Probation, and Mandatory Minimums

26 people (8%) received probation only. Among the 317 sent to prison, a quarter received 71 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 35 of the 339 people with that information recorded (10%). Nationally, 7,573 people were sentenced for assault, and 90% were sent to prison. The district-wide median for all offenses was 3.5 months.

## How Often Sentences Were Above the Guideline Range

Of the 335 people with this information, 141 (42%) were within the range. 106 (32%) were below it at the government's request, and 60 (18%) were below it without a government request. 28 (8%) were above it.

The sheet gives no national figure for above-range sentences. Across all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range.

## Trials Led to Longer Median Terms

333 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 12 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 37 months after a guilty plea and 90 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 11 people who were sent to prison.

Among guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas. Nationally, 93% of people in this type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, guilty pleas were more than 99%.

The trial group is small, so the 90-month figure describes a few cases and not trials in general. The records do not show what each sentence reflected.

## Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History

307 people (89%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 14 (4%). Restitution was ordered for 87 (25%).

56% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 7% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Patterns

136 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 209 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table uses fiscal years, which begin each October 1.

Yearly counts ranged from 23 in 2022 to 51 in 2025\. The yearly median was 70 months in 2023 and 30 months in 2017\. Groups of 23 to 51 people can shift with a few cases, and these changes should be read with care.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 30               | 37 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 35               | 30 months     | 94%            |
| 2018        | 32               | 33 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 39               | 33 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 34               | 37 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 35               | 36.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2022        | 23               | 48 months     | 91%            |
| 2023        | 27               | 70 months     | 93%            |
| 2024        | 39               | 41 months     | 95%            |
| 2025        | 51               | 47.5 months   | 96%            |

## Outside the Scope of the Data

Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB appear in this site's court-martial data and are located in the district. Military trials take place in military courts, so this post draws no link to them. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not counted here, and the prison terms shown are the ones imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (345). 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 Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) (overview)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (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.