Federal Assault Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
Of the 60 people sentenced for assault in the Western District of Michigan in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 50 (83%) received a prison term and 8 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years). Nationally, 90% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY201 › Assault: Western District of Michigan
In brief: Of the 60 people sentenced for assault in the Western District of Michigan in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 50 (83%) received a prison term and 8 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years). Nationally, 90% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 60 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.
Prison and Probation Compared With the Country
Prison was less common here than across all 94 federal districts, where 90% of the 7,573 people in this offense type were sent to prison. In this district, 8 people (13%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 37 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 27.8 months or less.
The national median was 42 months, which is longer. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
The Main Guidelines
Assault is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. The most common here was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 41 cases.
Next were §2A2.3 (Assault) with 10 and §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) with 6. Assault cases were 2% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 56 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36.5 months, and after a trial it was 57.5 months. The trial figure is based on 4 people, which is too few for a firm comparison.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 58 people with that information recorded (5%).
Guideline Range
A sentence within the guideline range was given to 40 people (67%). 2 sentences (3%) were below the range at the government's request, and 12 (20%) were below it without a government request. 6 sentences (10%) were above the range.
The share above the range is higher than the share below it at the government's request. For all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, and the district's figure for all offenses was 54%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 50 people (83%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 33 (55%), and restitution for 7 (12%).
By criminal history, 33% were in the lowest category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 34 people in this offense type from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 26 from 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows between 2 and 14 people per year.
Yearly medians run from 12 months in 2021 to 105 months in 2023, but both years have only 2 people. Those figures show how small groups can vary and should not be read as trends.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 27 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 11 | 31.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 6 | 48 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2019 | 14 | 30 months | 93% |
| 2020 | 2 | 66 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 99 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2023 | 2 | 105 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 4 | 37 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 11 | 36 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (60). 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 Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, 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.