Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Michigan, 8 of the 10 people (80%) sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 7.5 months. For the same offense type in all 94 districts, 28% were sent to prison and the median was 5 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY201 › Environmental Offense: Eastern District of Michigan
In brief: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 8 of the 10 people (80%) sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 7.5 months. For the same offense type in all 94 districts, 28% were sent to prison and the median was 5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 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.
A Higher Share Sent to Prison Than in All Districts
Of the 10 people, 8 (80%) received a prison term and 2 (20%) received probation only. Across all 94 districts, 28% of people with this offense type were sent to prison.
The district's share is higher. The group is small, so the difference rests on 10 people.
Among those sent to prison, the median term was 7.5 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The median for all districts was 5 months.
Guidelines Used in the Cases
"Environmental" is the Commission's category, assigned from the primary guideline. The most common was §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides), used for 4 people.
The next 2 guidelines were used for 3 people each: §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants) and §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants).
The mix of guidelines means the group includes wildlife and pollution cases together.
All Pleaded Guilty, and Everyone Had No Mandatory Minimum
All 10 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. In all districts, guilty pleas were 98%.
Among the guilty pleas, 80% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 10 people.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Sentences were within the guideline range for 70% of the people (7). In all districts, the share for this type was 50%, and for all offenses in this district it was 38%.
One sentence (10%) was below the range at the government's request, and 2 (20%) were below the range without a request. None was above the range.
Criminal History
All 10 people (100%) were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and 0% were in the highest (Category VI).
Every person in this group had the same criminal history category, so the records show no spread in criminal history for these cases.
Fiscal Years Are Mostly Single Cases
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 5 people. Fiscal year 2016 has 3 people, with a median prison term of 28.5 months. Every other year in the table has 1 person.
Because of that, the yearly medians are single sentences and not a trend. A median is not given for fiscal year 2022.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 28.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3.1 months | 1 of 1 |
Penalties After Prison and What Is Not Known
Supervised release was ordered for 5 people (50%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (40%), and restitution for 3 (30%).
Environmental cases were less than 1% of the 7,508 people sentenced in the district. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so dismissals and acquittals are not included, and the records do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (10). 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 Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, 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.