Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
In the District of North Dakota, 50% of federal sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were below the guideline range at the government's request: 1,681 of the 3,333 with that information. Only 34% were within the range, against 48% nationally. The district sentenced 3,337 people, and the median pri
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In brief: In the District of North Dakota, 50% of federal sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were below the guideline range at the government's request: 1,681 of the 3,333 with that information. Only 34% were within the range, against 48% nationally. The district sentenced 3,337 people, and the median prison term was 36 months (3 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,337 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.
Government Requests for Lower Sentences
A below-range sentence at the government's request means the prosecution asked the judge to go under the guideline range. In North Dakota, this was the most common result, at 1,681 sentences.
Within-range sentences numbered 1,131 (34%). Below-range sentences without a government request numbered 404 (12%), and above-range sentences numbered 117 (4%).
The records show where each sentence fell against the range. They do not record the reason for any request.
Prison Was Ordered in Almost Every Case
A prison term was imposed on 3,257 people, or 98%. That is higher than the 91% share across all districts. Only 64 people (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 36 months, longer than the 24-month national median. The range was wide: a quarter of prison terms were 84 months or more, while a quarter were 3.8 months or less. 15 people received a life sentence.
All of these are terms imposed at sentencing, not time served.
Trial Sentences Compared With Plea Sentences
3,250 people (97%) pleaded guilty, the same share as the national figure. 87 were convicted at trial, and all 87 were sent to prison.
The median prison term after a trial was 180 months. After a guilty plea it was 33 months. The trial group is small, and it may contain more serious charges than the plea group, so the gap is not a measure of a trial penalty.
Written plea agreements were part of 93% of the guilty pleas. The other 7% were straight pleas.
The District's Offense Types
Drug trafficking accounted for 1,533 people (46%), with a median prison term of 50 months. Immigration was next at 349 (10%), with a median of 2.8 months.
Firearms (276) and assault (258) each made up 8% of the total. Firearms cases had a 42-month median, and assault cases had a 24-month median. Sexual abuse accounted for 192 people (6%) and had a 120-month median.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases (159) had a median prison term of 1.6 months. Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 105, with a 108-month median.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 1,533 | 46% | 50 months | 98% |
| Immigration | 349 | 10% | 2.8 months | more than 99% |
| Firearms | 276 | 8% | 42 months | 97% |
| Assault | 258 | 8% | 24 months | 97% |
| Sexual Abuse | 192 | 6% | 120 months | 91% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 159 | 5% | 1.6 months | 98% |
| Child Pornography | 105 | 3% | 108 months | more than 99% |
| Money Laundering | 100 | 3% | 72 months | 94% |
Mandatory Minimums, Supervision, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,200 people (36%). This is a statutory floor that generally limits how low a sentence can go.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2,945 people (88%), with a median term of 36 months. 71 (2%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 573 people (17%). Fines were ordered for only 24 (less than 1%). Criminal history category I covered 37% of those sentenced, and category VI covered 16%.
Air Force Bases in the District
Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, both in North Dakota, are 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 above come from the district court only.
Year-by-Year Counts
There were 1,386 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,951 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal year 2023 had the most, 413. The yearly median prison term ranged from 26 months in fiscal year 2019 to 40.5 months in fiscal year 2024.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 361 | 36 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 326 | 27 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 370 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 329 | 26 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 252 | 33 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 289 | 39 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 345 | 36 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 413 | 39 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 327 | 40.5 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 325 | 30 months | more than 99% |
What the Data Does Not Cover
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are absent. The data cannot show why prosecutors asked for lower sentences as often as they did.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (3,337). 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)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Minot AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of North Dakota (installation comparison)
- 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.