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# Federal Sentences in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-the-northern-mariana-islands/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:39.000Z
- Description: In the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, the median prison term for people sent to prison in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 8 months. The median for all 94 federal districts together was 24 months. Immigration was the most common offense type in this district, with 72 of the 185 people senten
- 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 the Northern Mariana Islands

**In brief:** In the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, the median prison term for people sent to prison in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 8 months. The median for all 94 federal districts together was 24 months. Immigration was the most common offense type in this district, with 72 of the 185 people sentenced (39%).

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 185 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/).

## A Small District Led by Immigration Cases

The federal court here sentenced 185 people over the 10 fiscal years, a small total for a federal district. Immigration cases made up 39% of them, and those cases had a median prison term of 1 month.

Drug trafficking was second, with 42 people (23%). Its median prison term was 57 months. Fraud, theft, or embezzlement accounted for 40 people (22%), with a median of 1.7 months.

Bribery or corruption cases numbered 9\. Money laundering, firearms, and child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases each numbered 4\. These groups are too small to support firm conclusions.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Immigration              | 72               | 39%               | 1 months      | 89%            |
| Drug Trafficking         | 42               | 23%               | 57 months     | 95%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 40               | 22%               | 1.7 months    | 83%            |
| Bribery/Corruption       | 9                | 5%                | 1 months      | 9 of 9         |
| Money Laundering         | 4                | 2%                | 81.5 months   | 4 of 4         |
| Firearms                 | 4                | 2%                | 23.1 months   | 4 of 4         |
| Child Pornography        | 4                | 2%                | 87.5 months   | 4 of 4         |
| Sexual Abuse             | 3                | 2%                | 156 months    | 3 of 3         |

## Prison, Probation, and Term Lengths

157 of the 185 (85%) received a prison term. Nationwide, the share was 91%. 26 people (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The spread of prison terms was wide. A quarter of those sent to prison received 46 months or more. At the other end, a quarter received 1 month or less.

The large number of short immigration terms is part of the district's total, and the 8-month median covers all offense types together. Terms shown are those imposed, not time served.

## Was the Plea Rate Different?

168 of 185 people (91%) pleaded guilty. That is lower than the 97% guilty plea rate for all districts. 17 people were convicted after a trial.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 6 months. After a trial it was 15 months, based on 16 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement. Only 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Most Sentences Fell Within the Guidelines

All 185 people had guideline information. 125 of them (68%) received a sentence within the guideline range, higher than the 48% for all districts.

38 people (21%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 19 (10%) were sentenced below the range without a government request. 3 people (2%) received a sentence above the range.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 23 people. A mandatory minimum is a statutory floor on the prison term.

## Criminal History and Other Parts of the Sentence

89% of those sentenced were in the lowest criminal history category, category I. None were in category VI, the highest: the share was 0%. Court-martial records carry no criminal history field.

156 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Fines were ordered for 32 people (17%) and restitution for 20 (11%).

## Year-by-Year Totals

60 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 125 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The largest single year was 2024, with 40 people and a median prison term of 1 month.

Several years had fewer than 15 people sentenced. In 2017 and 2018, guilty pleas were 69% and 71%, but those years had only 13 and 14 people. Small yearly counts like these change a lot from year to year and do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 22               | 46 months     | 91%            |
| 2017        | 13               | 21 months     | 69%            |
| 2018        | 14               | 12 months     | 71%            |
| 2019        | 11               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2020        | 10               | 0.2 months    | 80%            |
| 2021        | 16               | 30 months     | 94%            |
| 2022        | 17               | 16.5 months   | 94%            |
| 2023        | 25               | 1.1 months    | 96%            |
| 2024        | 40               | 1 months      | 98%            |
| 2025        | 17               | 1.7 months    | 94%            |

## Limits of These Records

The Sentencing Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissed cases are missing from every figure above. The records also do not explain why any sentence was set where it was, and they say nothing about the strength of the evidence in a case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Mariana Islands") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (185). 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)
- [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.