Federal Assault Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Washington, 66 people were sentenced for assault in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 56 (85%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months. The national median for this offense type was 42 months.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Assault: Western District of Washington
In brief: In the Western District of Washington, 66 people were sentenced for assault in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 56 (85%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months. The national median for this offense type was 42 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 66 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 Terms Were Shorter Than the National Median
The Sentencing Commission's "Assault" offense type has 66 people in this district. 56 (85%) were sentenced to prison, and 8 (12%) to probation only.
The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 43.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. The 0.1 months figure means that at least a quarter of the prison terms were very short. These are the terms imposed, not time served. Nationally, the median was 42 months and 90% went to prison.
How the District Compares in Size
The national group has 7,573 people. Assault cases were 2% of the 3,992 people sentenced in this district. For every offense type in the district together, the median prison term was 30 months.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of 65 people with this information, 29 (45%) were within the range. 23 (35%) were below it at the government's request, and 9 (14%) were below it without a request. 4 (6%) were above it.
The national share within the range was 48%. For all offenses in the district, it was 35%. A mandatory minimum applied to 3 of the 57 people with that information (5%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term that the law sets as a floor, which a judge generally cannot go below.
Almost All Pleaded Guilty
64 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Of the pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% did not.
The median prison term was 17.5 months after a plea. After a trial it was 79.5 months, based on only 2 people. That is too few to compare in general.
Guidelines Used
Most cases, 40 people, were under §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault). 6 people were under §2A2.3 (Assault). The offense type is the Commission's own category, and it groups cases by their primary guideline. The guideline names do not describe the facts of any single case.
After Prison and Criminal History
48 people (73%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 9 (14%), and restitution for 18 (27%).
49% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 32 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 34. Yearly counts run from 3 to 13. Medians run from 0.2 to 47 months. With groups this small, one case can move a median, so the table shows no trend.
Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are in this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts. The federal data leaves out acquittals and dismissals.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 8 | 18 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2018 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 8 | 0.2 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2020 | 4 | 20.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 9 | 0.3 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0.2 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 6 | 47 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2024 | 5 | 9 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 6 | 31.5 months | 5 of 6 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (66). 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 Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.