Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025
Most people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Middle District of Florida did not go to prison. Of 32 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 5 (16%) received a prison term and 20 (63%) received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016– › Environmental Offense: Middle District of Florida
In brief: Most people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Middle District of Florida did not go to prison. Of 32 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 5 (16%) received a prison term and 20 (63%) received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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 Most Common Result
20 of the 32 people (63%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 5 people (16%) received a prison term. The summary does not break out the sentences of the remaining people.
In all 94 districts, 28% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. For all offenses in the Middle District of Florida, the median prison term was 57 months.
Reading the Median Prison Term
The listed median prison term is 0 months. That is hard to match with 5 people receiving prison terms, and the figure may include people who received no prison time. The records here cannot settle the point. A quarter of the group received 15 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, the median was 5 months. The table shows medians of 15 months in fiscal years 2020 and 2024, and 0 months in fiscal years 2023 and 2025. Years with 1 to 3 people show n/a for the median.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 17 people (53%). Restitution was ordered for 4 people (13%).
5 people (16%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 12 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 32 people.
Which Guidelines Applied
"Environmental" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for this group. The most common primary guideline was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 26 people. Next were §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) with 3 people and §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants) with 1 person.
These cases were less than 1% of the 13,145 people sentenced in the district over the same years.
Pleas and the Guideline Range
31 of the 32 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 98% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas with no agreement.
55% of the sentences (17 people) were within the guideline range. 16% (5 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 29% (9 people) were below it without a government request. No sentence was above the range. The share within the range was 50% across all 94 districts and 47% for all offenses in this district.
84% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and 0% were in the highest (VI).
Cases by Fiscal Year
The district had 7 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 25 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The largest single year was fiscal year 2025, with 8 people.
Counts this small do not show a trend. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 7 | 15 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 3 | 15 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 months | 8 of 8 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Jacksonville, MacDill AFB, and Mayport, Florida are military installations in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (32). 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 Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, 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.