Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Florida, 49 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 84 months (7 years). In all 94 federal districts, the median was 42 months. 20% of the district's sentences were above the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY201 › Assault: Southern District of Florida
In brief: In the Southern District of Florida, 49 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 84 months (7 years). In all 94 federal districts, the median was 42 months. 20% of the district's sentences were above the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 49 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 Longer Median Than the National Figure
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Assault" includes 49 people sentenced in this district. 46 (94%) received a prison term, and 3 (6%) received probation only. 1 person received a life sentence.
The median prison term was 84 months. A quarter received 231 months or more, and a quarter received 28.5 months or less. The figures are sentences imposed, not time served.
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 7,573 people, 90% were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. The district median was higher. For all offenses in this district, the median was 32 months.
Sentences Above the Guideline Range
Guideline information was recorded for 45 people. 24 of them (53%) were sentenced within the range, and 9 (20%) were above it. 1 person (2%) was below the range at the government's request, and 11 (24%) were below it without that request.
Nationally, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 19 people. Next was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), with 18 people, and §2A2.3 (Assault), with 8 people.
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
A total of 40 people (82%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty, which was higher than this district's share.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 84 months. After a trial it was 120 months, based on 9 people. Among guilty pleas, 65% had a written plea agreement, and 35% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 9 of the 47 people with that information recorded (19%).
Other Terms and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 45 people (92%), and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and restitution for 11 (22%).
Criminal history placed 29% in category I, the lowest, and 27% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no such field.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the next September. The yearly count ranged from 1 person in fiscal year 2021 to 10 people in fiscal year 2025.
The yearly median prison term ranged from 3 months to 360 months. With 1 to 10 people a year, one case can change a yearly median a great deal, and the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 22 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 6 | 106.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 5 | 60 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 2 | 110 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 4 | 172.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 1 | 3 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 120 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2023 | 4 | 120 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 360 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2025 | 10 | 62 months | 80% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data does not describe any assault, any injury, or why a sentence was above or below the range. People who were acquitted or had charges dismissed do not appear. The records exclude courts-martial, which military courts try.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (49). 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, 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.