Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of Texas sentenced 113 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 58.5 months (4.9 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. Fiscal year 2025 had 26 people, more than any earlier year.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Assault: Southern District of Texas
In brief: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 113 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 58.5 months (4.9 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. Fiscal year 2025 had 26 people, more than any earlier year.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 113 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.
Longer Median Terms Than the National Figure
Of the 113 people, 108 (96%) received a prison term, and 3 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term was 58.5 months. A quarter received 90 months or more, and a quarter received 40 months or less.
The national group for assault had 7,573 people, and 90% of them went to prison. Their median prison term was 42 months, which was lower than the median here. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 63 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 3 | 51 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 10 | 55.5 months | 80% |
| 2019 | 12 | 66 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 11 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 12 | 75.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 11 | 50.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 9 | 46 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2024 | 12 | 46 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 26 | 60 months | 96% |
Aggravated Assault Is the Main Guideline
Assault is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) for 94 people. Another 6 had §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), and 4 had §2A2.3 (Assault).
These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district in these years. The guideline names do not describe the facts of any case.
Plea and Trial Results
A total of 109 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The national guilty plea rate was 93%. Here, 62% of guilty pleas included a written plea agreement and 37% did not.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 54 months. After a trial, it was 90 months, based on 4 people. With only 4 trial cases, a firm comparison is not possible.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Each case has a guideline range calculated under the Commission's rules. Of 112 people with this information, 59 (53%) were sentenced inside it. Below the range at the government's request were 13% (14), and below it without a request were 24% (27). Above the range were 11% (12).
The national share inside the range was 48% for assault. For all offenses in this district, it was 58%. The share above the range here, 11%, is larger than for most offense types, though the group is small.
Other Penalties
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 106 people with that information recorded (8%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 82 people (73%), with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 3 people (3%) and restitution for 23 (20%). In criminal history, 36% were in the lowest category and 12% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and What Cannot Be Shown
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 32 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 81. Most years had 3 to 12 people, which is too few to call the yearly medians a trend. The table lists each year.
Nothing in the data covers acquittals, dismissals, or cases that were not charged. It also lacks any detail on injuries or circumstances. The prison terms shown are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (113). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.