> ## 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 Western District of New York, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-new-york/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:05.000Z - Description: In the Western District of New York, people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 180 months in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with 37 months after a guilty plea. Across all 4,205 people sentenced, the median prison term was 41 months. For all 94 federal districts, it was 24 month - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › Western District of New York **In brief:** In the Western District of New York, people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 180 months in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with 37 months after a guilty plea. Across all 4,205 people sentenced, the median prison term was 41 months. For all 94 federal districts, it was 24 months. 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 4,205 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 After Trial and After a Plea 121 people in this district were convicted after a trial. The trial median of 180 months is based on 120 of them who were sent to prison. The other 4,084 people (97%) pleaded guilty, the same rate as for all districts. Their median prison term was 37 months. The trial group and the plea group are not matched by offense. The records show the medians for each group, not whether the same charges were involved. ## Plea Agreements More than 99% of guilty pleas in this district had a written plea agreement. Less than 1% were straight pleas with no agreement. A written agreement records terms the prosecution and the defendant settled on before the plea. The sentencing data does not describe those terms. ## How Long and How Often: Prison in the District 3,742 of the 4,205 people sentenced (89%) received a prison term, compared with 91% across all districts. 341 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 41 months, or 3.4 years. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. 22 people were sentenced to life. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,428 people (34%). Such minimums are set by statute. ## Offense Types Drug trafficking made up 40% of sentences, with 1,680 people and a median prison term of 57 months. Fraud, theft, or embezzlement had 494 people (12%), firearms 475 (11%), and immigration 429 (10%). The immigration median was 1.9 months, the shortest in the table. Sexual abuse had 217 people (5%) and a median of 180 months. Child pornography (images of child exploitation) had 215 people (5%), a median prison term of 78 months, and a guilty plea share of more than 99%. | Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | Drug Trafficking | 1,680 | 40% | 57 months | 98% | | Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 494 | 12% | 12 months | 98% | | Firearms | 475 | 11% | 46 months | 96% | | Immigration | 429 | 10% | 1.9 months | 100% | | Sexual Abuse | 217 | 5% | 180 months | 94% | | Child Pornography | 215 | 5% | 78 months | more than 99% | | Robbery | 127 | 3% | 84 months | 96% | | Administration of Justice | 90 | 2% | 9 months | 96% | ## Guideline Range Results Guideline information covers 4,197 people. Of those, 1,763 (42%) were sentenced within the range, lower than the 48% for all districts. 1,478 (35%) were below the range at the government's request, and 780 (19%) were below it without a government request. 176 (4%) were above the range. ## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release was ordered for 3,462 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. 32 (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. Fines were ordered for 447 people (11%), and restitution for 887 (21%). In criminal history, 50% were in category I, the lowest category. 7% were in category VI, the highest. ## Fiscal Years and Limits of the Data The district sentenced 1,943 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,262 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal year 2024 had the highest yearly median prison term, 57 months. Sentencing Commission data has only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, and the prison terms are imposed terms rather than time served. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 465 | 37 months | 97% | | 2017 | 455 | 30 months | 96% | | 2018 | 503 | 36 months | 95% | | 2019 | 520 | 46 months | 97% | | 2020 | 350 | 37 months | 96% | | 2021 | 322 | 41 months | 98% | | 2022 | 411 | 41 months | 98% | | 2023 | 411 | 46 months | 97% | | 2024 | 365 | 57 months | more than 99% | | 2025 | 403 | 41 months | 98% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,205). 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.