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# Federal Assault Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:37.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 50 (98%) received a prison term. The median was 58.5 months (4.9 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. Aggravated assault was the most common guideline
- 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 Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) › Assault: Eastern District of Texas

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 50 (98%) received a prison term. The median was 58.5 months (4.9 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. Aggravated assault was the most common guideline.

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 51 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's "Assault" type is assigned by the primary guideline. In this district, 40 people were sentenced under §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault). Another 5 were sentenced under §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), and 5 under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).

These cases were less than 1% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Prison Terms

The median prison term was 58.5 months. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 37.1 months or less. One person received a life sentence.

The national median for assault was 42 months, which is lower than the median here. The median for all offenses in this district was 64.5 months, which is higher than the assault median.

Probation only went to 1 person (2%). Nationwide, 90% of people sentenced for assault were sent to prison.

## Within the Range, Above, and Below

The guideline range is calculated for each case. Within the range were 59% of the sentences (30). Below the range at the government's request were 27% (14), and below the range without a government request were 8% (4). Above the range were 6% (3).

Nationwide, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, and the share for all offenses in this district was 64%.

## Pleas and Trial Convictions

A total of 49 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. Nationwide, 93% pleaded guilty.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 57 months. After a trial it was 278.5 months, based on 2 people. A group this small does not support a comparison.

A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 51 people (2%).

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 50 people (98%), with a median term of 36 months. No fines were ordered, and restitution was ordered for 4 people (8%).

In criminal history, 18% were in the lowest category and 37% were in the highest. Courts-martial have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 33\. A fiscal year begins October 1 and ends the next September.

Fiscal year 2022 had the most people, 11, with a median of 71 months. Fiscal year 2021 had 1 person and a median of 24 months. Yearly counts this small do not establish a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 7                | 57 months     | 7 of 7         |
| 2017        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 6                | 46.5 months   | 6 of 6         |
| 2019        | 4                | 84 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 3                | 63 months     | 2 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 11               | 71 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 8                | 61.5 months   | 7 of 8         |
| 2024        | 3                | 51 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 7                | 46 months     | 7 of 7         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data starts at sentencing. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and the records give no facts about any one case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (51). 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 Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (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.