Federal Assault Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
Only 13 people were sentenced for assault in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 7 (54%) received a prison term and 6 (46%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 90% of assault cases ended in prison, so probation was far more common here.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY20 › Assault: Northern District of New York
In brief: Only 13 people were sentenced for assault in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 7 (54%) received a prison term and 6 (46%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 90% of assault cases ended in prison, so probation was far more common here.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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.
Probation Only for 6 of 13
The district's assault cases look different from the national pattern. In 6 of the 13 cases (46%), the person received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 90% of people sentenced for assault went to prison.
The other 7 (54%) received a prison term. Among those 7, the median was 34.5 months, or 2.9 years. A quarter received 94 months or more, and a quarter received 15.2 months or less. In all districts, the median was 42 months.
The median for all offenses in the district was 24 months.
Why Small Counts Need Care
A group of 13 people is small. The data gives some figures as fractions, such as 5 of 7, and a single case changes a percentage a great deal.
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district. The numbers below describe this group only and should not be taken as a measure of how assault cases are usually sentenced here.
Pleas, Supervised Release, and Fines
All 13 people pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The rate across all districts was 93%. Among the guilty pleas, 38% had a written plea agreement and 62% were straight pleas.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 5 people (38%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (38%). No restitution was ordered.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Guideline range information was recorded for the 7 people sent to prison. Of those, 5 of 7 were sentenced within the range, and 2 of 7 were below it at the government's request. None was below it without a request, and none was above it.
A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 5 people with that information recorded. In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range.
The Charges Behind the Cases
"Assault" is the offense type set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The most common primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 4 people. One person each was sentenced under §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) and §2A2.3 (Assault).
For criminal history, 1 of 7 was in the lowest category, category I, and 1 of 7 was in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6. No year has more than 2 people.
The yearly medians range from 4 months to 150 months, and some are listed as n/a. These figures come from 1 or 2 people each, so the records do not support any trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 2 | 34.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 20 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 68 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 150 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 4 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10.4 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fort Drum, New York, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The records do not show how serious the injuries were or the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (13). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, 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.