Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025
Of 1,754 people sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,712 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 96% of those pleas came with a written plea agreement. The median prison term was 30 months. For all 94 federal districts, the guilty plea rate was 97% and the median prison term
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In brief: Of 1,754 people sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,712 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 96% of those pleas came with a written plea agreement. The median prison term was 30 months. For all 94 federal districts, the guilty plea rate was 97% and the median prison term was 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,754 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.
Nearly Every Guilty Plea Had a Written Agreement
A written plea agreement sets out terms the defendant and the prosecution agreed to before the plea. A straight plea is a guilty plea entered with no agreement.
In New Hampshire, 96% of guilty pleas had a written agreement. Only 4% were straight pleas. The records show that an agreement existed, not what it contained.
The guilty plea rate was also high. 1,712 of the 1,754 people sentenced pleaded guilty, or 98%. 42 people were convicted after a trial.
What Kinds of Cases Were Sentenced?
Drug trafficking made up 47% of the district's sentences, with 825 people. Their median prison term was 46 months, and 99% pleaded guilty.
Fraud, theft, or embezzlement accounted for 208 people (12%). Immigration and firearms cases were close in size: 182 (10%) and 174 (10%). The median prison term for immigration was 3.2 months, the shortest among the larger offense types.
There were 72 child pornography cases (4%), which this site also describes as images of child exploitation. Their median prison term was 60 months. Sexual abuse cases, 50 in all, had a median of 219 months.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 825 | 47% | 46 months | 99% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 208 | 12% | 18 months | 97% |
| Immigration | 182 | 10% | 3.2 months | 99% |
| Firearms | 174 | 10% | 30 months | 97% |
| Child Pornography | 72 | 4% | 60 months | 97% |
| Robbery | 65 | 4% | 60 months | 98% |
| Sexual Abuse | 50 | 3% | 219 months | 94% |
| Prison Offenses | 45 | 3% | 4 months | 100% |
The Range of Prison Terms
A prison term was imposed on 1,571 people (90%), compared with 91% for all districts. Probation only, with no confinement of any kind, was the sentence for 138 people (8%).
For those sent to prison, the median term was 30 months, or 2.5 years. A quarter received 66 months or more. At the low end, a quarter received 5.5 months or less.
Mandatory minimum prison terms applied to 439 people, or 25%. These minimums are written into statutes and generally bind the judge.
Guideline Range Positions
Guideline information was available for 1,752 people. The most common result, 749 sentences (43%), was a sentence below the range at the government's request.
Within-range sentences numbered 550, or 31%. That is lower than the 48% within-range share for all districts. 406 sentences (23%) were below the range without a government request, and 47 (3%) were above it.
After a Plea and After a Trial
People who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 30 months. People convicted at trial had a median of 48 months.
The trial median comes from 39 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group that small can shift with a handful of cases.
Supervision, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
Judges ordered supervised release after prison for 1,336 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months. 11 people, less than 1%, were placed on supervised release for life.
A fine was part of the sentence for 68 people (4%). Restitution was ordered for 319 (18%). 48% of those sentenced were in criminal history category I, and 12% were in category VI.
Sentences by Fiscal Year
New Hampshire sentenced 769 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 985 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table gives each fiscal year separately.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so it leaves out acquittals and dismissals. Prison terms shown are those imposed by the judge, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 177 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 212 | 29 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 184 | 38 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 196 | 36 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 200 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 197 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 180 | 36.5 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 160 | 24 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 118 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 130 | 36 months | 98% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Hampshire (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Hampshire") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (1,754). 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)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.