Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
6 of the 10 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2023 (60%) received probation only. 2 (20%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 1.5 months. For all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Environmental Offense: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: 6 of the 10 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2023 (60%) received probation only. 2 (20%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 1.5 months. For all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison.
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.
Probation Was the Most Common Sentence
6 of 10 people (60%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 2 people (20%) received a prison term. The sheet does not list how the remaining 2 people were sentenced.
For all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 5 months. In this district, the median was 1.5 months. A quarter received 1.8 months or more, and a quarter received 1.2 months or less. With only 2 people in prison, these medians rest on very little.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 1.5 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2019 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Wildlife Cases Were the Largest Group
The Commission's offense type is "Environmental." The most common primary guideline was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 7 people. §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants) applied to 2 people, and §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) to 1 person.
Below-Range Sentences at the Government's Request
5 people (50%) were sentenced below the advisory guideline range at the government's request. 3 (30%) were within the range, and 2 (20%) were below it without a government request. None were above the range.
For all 94 districts, 50% of environmental sentences were within the guideline range. For all offenses in this district, it was 37%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 10 people (0%).
Pleas and One Trial
9 of 10 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 98% pleaded guilty. All 9 who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 1 month after a guilty plea and 2 months after the trial. Each figure is based on 1 or 2 people and cannot show how pleas and trials compare.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervision
A fine was ordered for 6 people (60%), and restitution for 6 (60%). Supervised release after prison applied to 2 people (20%), with a median term of 36 months.
80% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 7 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 3 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal year 2016 had 5 people, the most of any year. No cases appear after fiscal year 2023.
The counts are small, and the records cannot show whether the change reflects fewer cases or something else.
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data. Acquittals and dismissals do not. The records do not describe the conduct or the harm in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") 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 Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, 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.