Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025
Of 15 people sentenced in the District of Arizona for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 (87%) received probation only and 2 (13%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 28% of people in this category were sent to prison. All 15 pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 › Environmental Offense: District of Arizona
In brief: Of 15 people sentenced in the District of Arizona for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 (87%) received probation only and 2 (13%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 28% of people in this category were sent to prison. All 15 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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.
Mostly Probation Without Prison
13 of the 15 people (87%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 2 (13%) received a prison term.
In all 94 districts, 28% of people sentenced for environmental offenses were sent to prison. The Arizona share of people receiving prison was lower.
People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in this data, which counts only those convicted and sentenced.
The Prison Terms That Were Imposed
Among the 2 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 16.5 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. With only 2 people, these figures describe 2 sentences and not a typical case.
For all districts, the median prison term in this category was 5 months. For all offenses in the District of Arizona, it was 9 months.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
What Environmental Offenses Means Here
"Environmental" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense category. It is assigned by the main guideline used in the case.
In this district, 4 cases used §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), and 1 used §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants). These are the most common guidelines, and they do not account for all 15 cases.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. In all districts, 98% pleaded guilty.
Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 15 people.
Guideline Range and Criminal History
Each case has a guideline range under the Commission's rules. 11 people have this information. 5 sentences (45%) were within the range, 4 (36%) were below it at the government's request, and 2 (18%) were below it without a government request. None was above the range.
For all environmental cases in all districts, 50% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it was 35%.
91% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 0% in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
2 people (13%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (20%), and restitution for 4 (27%).
These cases were less than 1% of the 47,716 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Cases by Year and Their Limits
8 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 7 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table shows years with 1 to 3 people each. A median prison term is listed only for 2024 (18 months) and 2025 (12 months); the other years show n/a.
The records do not describe what any person did, so they cannot show why most cases ended in probation. The district contains Davis-Monthan AFB, Fort Huachuca, Luke AFB, and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Service members at those installations face courts-martial in military courts, which are outside this data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Arizona (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arizona") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (15). 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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.