Federal Assault Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
The Northern District of Iowa sentenced 31 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 102 months (8.5 years), compared with 42 months for all 94 federal districts. Of the 31, 26% were sentenced above the guideline range.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Assault: Northern District of Iowa
In brief: The Northern District of Iowa sentenced 31 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 102 months (8.5 years), compared with 42 months for all 94 federal districts. Of the 31, 26% were sentenced above the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 31 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.
A Median Above the All-District Figure
Of the 31 people, 30 (97%) received a prison term, and 1 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median term was 102 months. A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 34 months or less.
Across all districts, the Commission counts 7,573 people in the assault category. Of those, 90% went to prison, and the median was 42 months. The Iowa median is higher. All offenses in the Northern District of Iowa had a median of 60 months. These are sentences imposed, not time served.
Sentences Above the Guideline Range
A total of 58% (18) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 26% (8) were above it. Below the range, 6% (2) were at the government's request, and 10% (3) were without one.
Across all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 53%. The records do not show the reasons for sentences above the range.
What Assault Covers
"Assault" is the Commission's own category. The primary guideline was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) for 15 people, §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) for 10, and §2A2.3 (Assault) for 6.
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 3,479 people sentenced in the district over the period. The group is small, and the guideline mix matters, because the guidelines carry different offense levels.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 29 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 79.3 months, and after a trial it was 120 months.
Among guilty pleas, 66% had a written plea agreement, and 34% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 31 people (6%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 30 people (97%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (3%), and restitution for 4 (13%).
In criminal history, 19% were in the lowest category I and 29% were in the highest category VI. Military records have no matching criminal history field, so no court-martial comparison is made here.
Yearly Counts
The group has 9 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 22 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each year has from 1 to 7 people, so the yearly medians in the table, such as 27 months in 2021 and 103 months in 2020, are not a trend.
Fiscal years begin October 1. The records do not give a reason for the differences, and they count only people who were convicted and sentenced.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 27 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 120 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 4 | 78.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 3 | 120 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 7 | 103 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 1 | 27 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 80.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 4 | 88.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2024 | 2 | 38.3 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 111.3 months | 4 of 4 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (31). 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, 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.