Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
In the District of South Dakota, 57% of federal sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were within the guideline range, higher than the 48% share across all 94 districts. Only 8% were below the range at the government's request. The district sentenced 5,041 people, with a median prison term of 36 mo
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In brief: In the District of South Dakota, 57% of federal sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were within the guideline range, higher than the 48% share across all 94 districts. Only 8% were below the range at the government's request. The district sentenced 5,041 people, with a median prison term of 36 months (3 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 5,041 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.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the span of months the Sentencing Guidelines recommend for a given case. Of the 5,035 South Dakota sentences with this information, 2,853 were within it.
Below-range sentences without a government request were the next largest group: 1,554 (31%). Below-range sentences at the government's request numbered 414 (8%). Sentences above the range numbered 214 (4%).
These counts describe where sentences fell. They do not reveal what the parties argued or what the judge considered.
A Mixed Offense List
Drug trafficking was the largest offense type, but at 1,316 people it was 26% of the district total. Its median prison term was 120 months.
Firearms cases accounted for 703 (14%), with a 30-month median. Assault (448) and the Commission's category of obscenity and other sex offenses (436) each made up 9%. Assault cases had a 30-month median, and the obscenity and other sex offense group had an 18-month median.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement (397) and sexual abuse (386) each accounted for 8%. Sexual abuse cases had a 120-month median and a guilty plea share of 87%, the lowest in the table. The table also includes 214 administration of justice cases, with a 9-month median.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 1,316 | 26% | 120 months | 95% |
| Firearms | 703 | 14% | 30 months | 96% |
| Assault | 448 | 9% | 30 months | 95% |
| Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses | 436 | 9% | 18 months | more than 99% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 397 | 8% | 12 months | 96% |
| Sexual Abuse | 386 | 8% | 120 months | 87% |
| Immigration | 327 | 6% | 2.5 months | more than 99% |
| Administration of Justice | 214 | 4% | 9 months | 93% |
How Often Did Cases Go to Trial?
261 people were convicted at trial, and 4,780 (95%) pleaded guilty. The all-district guilty plea share was 97%, so trial convictions were more common here.
After a trial, the median prison term was 121 months, based on 251 people sent to prison. After a guilty plea, the median was 34 months. Cases that go to trial can involve different charges than cases that end in a plea.
Written plea agreements accompanied 97% of the guilty pleas, and 3% were straight pleas.
Prison Terms and Other Penalties
A prison term was imposed on 4,691 people (93%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was imposed on 323 (6%). 19 people received a life sentence.
A quarter of prison terms were 108 months or more, and a quarter were 12 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,400 people (28%).
Fines were ordered for 299 people (6%), and restitution for 847 (17%). Supervised release followed prison for 4,233 (84%), with a median of 36 months; 30 received it for life. Criminal history category I covered 39% and category VI covered 10%.
Ellsworth AFB
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. None of the numbers on this page are court-martial figures.
Year by Year
South Dakota sentenced 1,927 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 3,114 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly median prison term was 22 months in fiscal year 2017 and 48 months in fiscal year 2024. Fiscal year 2024 also had the most people sentenced, 575.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 440 | 27 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 496 | 22 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 482 | 27 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 509 | 41 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 497 | 34 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 466 | 40 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 558 | 46 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 512 | 46 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 575 | 48 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 506 | 42 months | 94% |
What Is Missing
People acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the Sentencing Commission data. The figures cannot show why the district's sentences fell within the range more often than the national share.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (5,041). 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)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Ellsworth AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of South 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.