Federal Assault Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
The Eastern District of Michigan sentenced 141 people for assault in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years), the same as the median for all 94 federal districts. Trials were rare, but the median after a trial was 126 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY201 › Assault: Eastern District of Michigan
In brief: The Eastern District of Michigan sentenced 141 people for assault in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years), the same as the median for all 94 federal districts. Trials were rare, but the median after a trial was 126 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 141 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.
Median Prison Term and How It Is Spread
Of the 141 people, 128 (91%) received a prison term and 13 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 90% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 42 months. A quarter received 102.4 months or more, and a quarter received 12.8 months or less. One person received a life sentence.
For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months. The assault median is higher.
Which Assault Guidelines Were Used
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline. The largest group in this district, 68 people, was sentenced under §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault). Another 38 were sentenced under §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), and 30 under §2A2.3 (Assault). One person was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Assault cases were 2% of the 7,508 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas Versus Trials
Guilty pleas accounted for 134 people (95%), and 7 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the rate was 96%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 41 months. After a trial, it was 126 months, based on 6 people sent to prison. The groups are small, and the records do not show whether the cases differed in other ways.
Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas.
Guideline Range
The Commission recorded the position for 139 people. Within the range were 47% (65). Below the range at the government's request were 14% (20), and below the range without a government request were 37% (52). Above the range were 1% (2).
For all 94 districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share here is about the same as the national figure and higher than the district-wide one.
Mandatory Minimums and Other Terms
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 16 of the 137 people with that information recorded (12%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 118 people (84%), with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%) and restitution for 23 (16%). In criminal history, 25% were in the lowest category (category I) and 12% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
There were 73 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 68 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years begin on October 1.
The table shows 6 to 19 people per year. Medians range from 29.5 months in 2022 to 97 months in 2016. With counts this small, a single year shows no trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 19 | 97 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 16 | 48 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 19 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 19 | 60 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 13 | 46 months | 85% |
| 2021 | 10 | 44 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 12 | 29.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 6 | 37 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2024 | 12 | 59 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 15 | 42 months | 87% |
Limits of the Records
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (141). 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 Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, 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.