> ## 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 Environmental Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-environmental-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:36.000Z - Description: 33 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 16 (48%) received a prison term, and 17 (52%) received probation only. The median prison term was 5.5 months, compared with 5 months across all 94 federal districts. 30 of the 33 cas - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) › Environmental Offense: Eastern District of New York **In brief:** 33 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 16 (48%) received a prison term, and 17 (52%) received probation only. The median prison term was 5.5 months, compared with 5 months across all 94 federal districts. 30 of the 33 cases used a guideline for fish, wildlife, and plants. Updated November 4, 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 33 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/). ## Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Cases The Sentencing Commission groups 33 people from this district under the offense type "Environmental." For 30 of them, the primary guideline was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants). For 2 people it was §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides). Together these cases were less than 1% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The data gives no description of what happened in any single case. ## Probation or Prison 17 people (52%) were placed on probation with no prison or other confinement. 16 people (48%) were sentenced to prison. For the 16, the median prison term was 5.5 months. One quarter received 12 months or more, and one quarter received 0.8 months or less. At the national level, 28% of people in this type went to prison, and the median was 5 months. The median for every offense type in the district was 27 months. Each of these numbers is the sentence the court imposed, which can differ from time actually served. ## Fines and Supervised Release Courts ordered a fine for 15 people (45%) and restitution for 2 (6%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 people (27%), and the median term was 12 months. ## Sentences Compared With the Recommended Range Under the Sentencing Guidelines, each case has a calculated range. 9 sentences (27%) were inside it. 7 (21%) were below it at the government's request, and 17 (52%) were below it without that request. No sentence (0%) was above it. Nationally, 50% of environmental sentences were within the range. The share for all offenses in this district was 24%. None of the 32 people with mandatory minimum information recorded had one. ## Pleas All 33 people (100%) pleaded guilty. No one was convicted after a trial, so the data has no trial prison term to report. 85% of the guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas. Across all districts, 98% of people in this type pleaded guilty. ## Criminal History and the Court-Martial Comparison 91% of these people fell in Category I, the lowest criminal history category. 0% fell in Category VI, the highest. Court-martial records do not have a criminal history field, so the federal figure has no counterpart there. ## Counts for Each Year Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 11 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 22\. The most in one year was 10 people, in fiscal year 2025, and that year's median was 4 months. Several years have a single person, and some medians are listed as n/a. Counts like these do not form a trend. The Commission counts people who were convicted and sentenced. People whose cases ended in an acquittal or a dismissal do not appear. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2017 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 | | 2018 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 | | 2019 | 4 | 6 months | 4 of 4 | | 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2022 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 | | 2023 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 | | 2024 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 | | 2025 | 10 | 4 months | 100% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (33). 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](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) - [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [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.