Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
Of the 83 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 52 (63%) received a prison term. Nationally, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The district's median prison term was 7 months, compared with 5 months across a
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY201 › Environmental Offense: Southern District of Florida
In brief: Of the 83 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 52 (63%) received a prison term. Nationally, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The district's median prison term was 7 months, compared with 5 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 83 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 Prison Share Than the National Figure
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Environmental" includes 83 people sentenced in this district. 52 (63%) received a prison term, and 19 (23%) received probation only.
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 1,638 people in this offense type. 28% were sent to prison. The district's prison share of 63% was higher than that.
Length of Prison Terms
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 7 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. The national median was 5 months, which was lower than the district median.
For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 32 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Wildlife Cases Dominate the Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 70 people. 6 people were sentenced under §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides), and 2 under §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants).
Environmental cases were less than 1% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district over these years.
One Trial Conviction
A total of 82 of the 83 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 98% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 7 months. The 1 person convicted at trial received 51 months. One case cannot show how trials usually end.
Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 83 people.
Guideline Range Positions
Guideline information was recorded for 79 people. 47 of them (59%) were sentenced within the range. The government requested a lower sentence in 9 cases (11%), and 21 people (27%) were below the range without that request. 2 people (3%) were above the range.
Nationally, 50% of environmental sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%.
Fines and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 29 people (35%), and restitution for 7 (8%). Supervised release was ordered for 52 people (63%), and the median term was 24 months.
In criminal history, 85% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and What They Leave Out
A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. The yearly count ranged from 3 people to 18 people, and the yearly median prison term ranged from 1.6 months to 19.9 months. One year has no median listed.
With counts this small, the yearly medians do not show a trend. The records do not describe the species, substances, or places involved. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of this federal data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 12 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 7 | 1.6 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 15 | 7 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 5 | 2.8 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 11 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 3 | 8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 7 | 4.1 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 18 | 4 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 9 | 19.9 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2025 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (83). 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern 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.