Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
Of the 37 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina, 32 (86%) received probation only and 3 (8%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
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In brief: Of the 37 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina, 32 (86%) received probation only and 3 (8%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 37 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.
Probation Was the Usual Sentence
In this district, 32 of 37 people (86%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Prison was imposed on 3 (8%). Across all districts, 1,638 people were sentenced for environmental offenses, and 28% were sent to prison.
Among the 3 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 15 months or more, and a quarter received 6.1 months or less. For all districts, the median was 5 months. Because the district group is only 3 people, these figures show little beyond the size of the group.
Fines Were More Common Than Prison
A fine was ordered for 23 people (62%), and restitution for 12 (32%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 (8%), with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 24 people with that information recorded (0%).
What Counts as an Environmental Offense
The Commission files each case under one offense type, using the case's primary guideline. For the environmental type, the guideline used most often here was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), used for 16 people.
§2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants) was used for 5, and §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) for 3. The 37 cases were less than 1% of the 7,801 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Pleas and Guideline Range
All 37 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 98% pleaded guilty, and the same was true for all offenses in this district. A written plea agreement was recorded for 62% of the guilty pleas and a straight plea with no agreement for 24%.
The range was recorded for 37 people. Of those, 49% (18) were within it. Another 41% (15) were below it without a government request, and 11% (4) were below it at the government's request. None were above it. For all districts, 50% were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 56% were.
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
Criminal history was in the lowest category I for 78%, and in the highest category VI for 0%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 14 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 23. The table lists years from fiscal year 2017, and most years show no median. Fiscal years 2017, 2021, and 2024 had the most people, with 9, 9, and 8.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 9 | n/a | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 9 | n/a | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 2 | 9.1 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | n/a | 8 of 8 |
| 2025 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
How This Compares With the Whole District
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months, and 56% of sentences were within the guideline range. Environmental cases were a small group in that caseload, because most ended without prison.
The records do not show the facts behind any case, so they cannot explain why probation was more common here than in the district's other cases.
What Is Outside the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data. Acquittals and dismissals do not, and the prison terms shown were imposed rather than served.
This district contains 4 military installations that appear in the court-martial data on this site. Their trials take place in military courts, so none of the figures above come from them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (37). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, 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.