Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
Federal judges in the Northern District of Iowa sentenced 3,479 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 97% of them received a prison term. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 districts combined. Sentences inside the guideline range were also more comm
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In brief: Federal judges in the Northern District of Iowa sentenced 3,479 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 97% of them received a prison term. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 districts combined. Sentences inside the guideline range were also more common here: 53%, against 48% nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,479 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.
Prison Terms Were Longer Than the National Median
Of the 3,479 people sentenced, 3,378 went to prison. Only 84 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 91% were sent to prison, so prison was ordered more often in this district.
The median is the middle prison term, with as many terms above it as below it. A quarter of the prison terms were 120 months or more. Another quarter were 18 months or less. 6 people received a life sentence.
These figures are the terms judges imposed. The Sentencing Commission does not record how much of each term a person actually served.
Firearms and Drug Cases Made Up Most of the Caseload
Drug trafficking was the largest offense type, at 1,230 people (35%). Firearms cases were close behind with 1,022 (29%). Together those 2 categories account for most of the people in the table below.
The median prison term differed widely by offense. Drug trafficking and child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases each had a median of 120 months. Firearms cases had a median of 48 months. Immigration cases, 447 in all (13%), had a median of 4 months.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement accounted for 261 people (8%), with a 12-month median. Sexual abuse cases were few, 62 people, but carried the longest median in the table: 240 months.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 1,230 | 35% | 120 months | 95% |
| Firearms | 1,022 | 29% | 48 months | 97% |
| Immigration | 447 | 13% | 4 months | 98% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 261 | 8% | 12 months | more than 99% |
| Child Pornography | 105 | 3% | 120 months | 98% |
| Prison Offenses | 78 | 2% | 12.5 months | 99% |
| Sexual Abuse | 62 | 2% | 240 months | 85% |
| Robbery | 41 | 1% | 117 months | 88% |
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The Sentencing Guidelines produce a recommended range for each case, and the judge decides whether to stay inside it. In this district, 1,837 sentences (53%) fell within the range.
Below-range sentences came in 2 forms. 729 (21%) were below the range at the government's request. Another 641 (18%) were below the range with no government request.
Sentences above the range numbered 272, or 8% of the 3,479 with this information. The records show the position of each sentence, not the reasons given in court.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
Guilty pleas resolved 3,338 cases (96%), slightly lower than the 97% rate across all districts. The other 141 people were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 66% came with a written plea agreement, and 34% were straight pleas with no agreement.
People convicted at trial received a median prison term of 180 months, based on 140 people sent to prison. After a guilty plea, the median was 57 months. The trial group is small, and the cases that went to trial may differ from those that ended in a plea.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,246 people (36%). A mandatory minimum is a statutory floor that generally limits how low the judge can go.
Supervision, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3,366 people (97%). The median supervision term was 36 months, and 3 people (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
Fines were uncommon: 135 people (4%). Restitution to victims was ordered for 394 (11%).
In criminal history, 33% of those sentenced were in category I, the lowest, and 16% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no comparable field.
Changes Across the Fiscal Years
The district sentenced 1,509 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,970 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each federal fiscal year begins on October 1. The median prison term was 41 months in fiscal year 2018 and 72 months in fiscal year 2025, the highest yearly figure in the table.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 348 | 49.5 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 376 | 47 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 370 | 41 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 415 | 53.5 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 365 | 45 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 326 | 66.5 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 333 | 63 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 338 | 64 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 295 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 313 | 72 months | 96% |
What These Numbers Leave Out
The Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissed cases are absent. The numbers describe what sentences were imposed. They cannot show why prosecutors charged cases the way they did or why judges chose a particular term.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (3,479). 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.