> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:31.000Z - Description: The Eastern District of California sentenced 4,546 people in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. For those sent to prison, the median term was 48 months (4 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts together. Drug trafficking made up 42% of the district's sentences, and a m - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › Eastern District of California **In brief:** The Eastern District of California sentenced 4,546 people in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. For those sent to prison, the median term was 48 months (4 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts together. Drug trafficking made up 42% of the district's sentences, and a mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,723 people (38%). 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 4,546 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/). ## Prison Terms Longer Than the National Median The district's 48-month median prison term is longer than the 24-month median across all districts. A quarter of the people sent to prison here received 90 months or more. Another quarter received 24 months or less. Most people sentenced here went to prison: 4,187 of the 4,546, or 92%. The national share was 91%. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 286 people (6%). 13 people received a life sentence. These figures are the terms judges imposed at sentencing. The Sentencing Commission data does not record how much of each term was actually served. ## Which Offenses Filled the District's Caseload? Drug trafficking accounted for 1,891 people, or 42% of everyone sentenced. The median prison term in those cases was 63 months, and 99% pleaded guilty. Firearms cases were second, with 756 people (17%) and a median term of 47.5 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement cases numbered 659 (14%), with a median term of 30 months. Immigration cases made up 271 sentences (6%) and had a median term of 21 months. The longest medians in the table belong to smaller groups. Sexual abuse cases (125 people) had a median term of 192 months. Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases (139 people) had a median of 120 months. | Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | Drug Trafficking | 1,891 | 42% | 63 months | 99% | | Firearms | 756 | 17% | 47.5 months | 98% | | Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 659 | 14% | 30 months | 92% | | Immigration | 271 | 6% | 21 months | 99% | | Child Pornography | 139 | 3% | 120 months | 91% | | Sexual Abuse | 125 | 3% | 192 months | 86% | | Tax | 115 | 3% | 18 months | 85% | | Administration of Justice | 106 | 2% | 8 months | 94% | ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a judge generally cannot go below. One applied to 1,723 people in this district, or 38%. Federal judges also calculate a guideline range for each case. Of the 4,511 people with this information, 1,807 (40%) received a sentence within the range. Across all districts, 48% were within the range. Sentences below the range were common here. 1,347 (30%) were below the range at the government's request, and 1,259 (28%) were below it without such a request. Only 98 people (2%) received a sentence above the range. ## Pleas, Trials, and Prison Terms After Each Guilty pleas resolved 4,354 of the 4,546 sentences (96%), about the same as the 97% national rate. The other 192 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 48 months. After a trial it was 78 months, based on 184 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 94% came with a written plea agreement. The remaining 6% were straight pleas with no agreement. The data counts only people who were convicted, so trials that ended in acquittal and cases that were dismissed do not appear here. ## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3,811 people (84%). The median supervised release term was 36 months, and 50 people (1%) received it for life. Restitution was ordered for 1,089 people (24%), and a fine for 260 (6%). In criminal history, 46% were in category I, the lowest, and 15% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no comparable field. ## Sentences by Fiscal Year The district sentenced 2,181 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,365 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table shows the count, median prison term, and guilty plea rate for each fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. The yearly median ranged from 41 months in 2020 to 60 months in 2025. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 672 | 46 months | 93% | | 2017 | 521 | 48 months | 95% | | 2018 | 477 | 45 months | 95% | | 2019 | 511 | 49 months | 96% | | 2020 | 408 | 41 months | 94% | | 2021 | 282 | 46 months | 98% | | 2022 | 366 | 57 months | 98% | | 2023 | 392 | 57 months | 97% | | 2024 | 445 | 51 months | 98% | | 2025 | 472 | 60 months | 96% | ## Military Bases and What the Records Leave Out Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB 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, so those cases are not part of these counts. The Sentencing Commission records do not show why a case was charged in federal court, why a sentence fell where it did, or how the case was resolved for anyone not convicted. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,546). 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 Beale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-beale-afb-vs-eastern-district-of-california/) (installation comparison) - [Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Travis AFB vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-travis-afb-vs-eastern-district-of-california/) (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.