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# Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-arizona/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:30.000Z
- Description: Immigration offenses made up 65% of federal sentences in the District of Arizona in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 31,098 of 47,716 people. The district's median prison term was 9 months, lower than the 24-month median for all 94 districts. More than 99% of the people sentenced pleaded guilty.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › District of Arizona

**In brief:** Immigration offenses made up 65% of federal sentences in the District of Arizona in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 31,098 of 47,716 people. The district's median prison term was 9 months, lower than the 24-month median for all 94 districts. More than 99% of the people sentenced pleaded guilty.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 47,716 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Most Sentences Were for Immigration Offenses

Arizona sentenced 47,716 people over the 10 fiscal years, and immigration cases were the largest group. The median prison term for those cases was 8 months.

Drug trafficking was next, at 6,681 people (14%), with a 24-month median. Drug possession accounted for 3,021 (6%), with a 6-month median. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement (1,441) and firearms (1,299) were each 3% of the total.

Assault cases numbered 990 (2%) and had a 30-month median, the longest in the table. Administration of justice (472) and money laundering (407) each made up less than 1%.

| Offense type              | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Immigration               | 31,098           | 65%               | 8 months      | more than 99%  |
| Drug Trafficking          | 6,681            | 14%               | 24 months     | more than 99%  |
| Drug Possession           | 3,021            | 6%                | 6 months      | more than 99%  |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement  | 1,441            | 3%                | 3.2 months    | 99%            |
| Firearms                  | 1,299            | 3%                | 21 months     | 98%            |
| Assault                   | 990              | 2%                | 30 months     | 98%            |
| Administration of Justice | 472              | less than 1%      | 11 months     | 99%            |
| Money Laundering          | 407              | less than 1%      | 22 months     | 97%            |

## Short Prison Terms

A prison term was imposed on 44,271 people (93%), and 3,229 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term was 9 months. A quarter of terms were 18 months or more, and a quarter were 4.9 months or less. 23 people received a life sentence.

These figures are the terms imposed. The Sentencing Commission does not report time served.

## Below the Range at the Government's Request

Of the 46,936 sentences with guideline information, 26,778 (57%) were below the range at the government's request. That was the most common position. Within-range sentences totaled 16,490 (35%), compared with 48% nationally.

Below-range sentences without a government request were 2,809 (6%). Above-range sentences were 859 (2%).

The records do not state the reason for each government request.

## Plea Agreements and Trials

47,395 people pleaded guilty, and 321 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 9 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 307 people sent to prison. The trial group is a small part of the total, and its cases may differ from the plea cases.

## Mandatory Minimums, Supervision, and Criminal History

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2,956 people, or 6%. A mandatory minimum is a floor in the statute that generally limits the lowest sentence a judge can impose.

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 37,442 people (78%), with a 36-month median term; 466 received it for life. Fines were ordered for 574 (1%), and restitution for 1,556 (3%).

In criminal history, 39% were in category I, the lowest, and 3% were in category VI, the highest.

## Military Installations in the District

Davis-Monthan AFB, Fort Huachuca, Luke AFB, and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma are all in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The figures on this page do not include any court-martial.

## Counts by Year

The district sentenced 21,475 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 26,241 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal year 2016 had the most, 5,769\. The yearly median prison term was 12 months in fiscal year 2018 and 6 months in fiscal year 2020.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5,769            | 10 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2017        | 5,447            | 10 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2018        | 4,649            | 12 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 5,610            | 10 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 4,566            | 6 months      | more than 99%  |
| 2021        | 4,371            | 8.3 months    | more than 99%  |
| 2022        | 4,454            | 9 months      | more than 99%  |
| 2023        | 4,812            | 9 months      | more than 99%  |
| 2024        | 3,904            | 9 months      | more than 99%  |
| 2025        | 4,134            | 8 months      | more than 99%  |

## Limits

Only people convicted and sentenced are in this data. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and the records cannot show why any case was charged or sentenced as it was.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Arizona (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arizona") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (47,716). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Davis-Monthan AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Arizona](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-davis-monthan-afb-vs-district-of-arizona/) (installation comparison)
- [Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Luke AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Arizona](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-luke-afb-vs-district-of-arizona/) (installation comparison)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.