Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14 people were sentenced in the Southern District of New York under the Commission's offense type "Environmental". 8 (57%) received probation only, and 6 (43%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 5 months for this offense type in
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14 people were sentenced in the Southern District of New York under the Commission's offense type "Environmental". 8 (57%) received probation only, and 6 (43%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 5 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 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 Only for 8 of 14 People
8 of the 14 people (57%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 6 people (43%) were sentenced to prison.
Among those 6, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 48.8 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Across all districts, 1,638 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 28% were sent to prison. The median prison term was 5 months. The share sent to prison is higher in this district, and so is the median term.
Fish, Wildlife, and Hazardous Substances
Environmental is the Commission's category. The records place each case under its primary guideline.
§2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants) was the primary guideline for 10 people. §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) was the primary guideline for 3 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in this district during fiscal years 2016 to 2025. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 33 months.
All 14 Pleaded Guilty
14 of 14 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all districts, 98% pleaded guilty.
93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 13 people with that information recorded.
Guideline Range
The Commission records whether each sentence was inside the calculated guideline range. 29% of the sentences (4) were within it. 21% (3) were below the range at the government's request, and 50% (7) were below it without a government request. None was above the range.
In all districts, 50% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. In this district, the share for all offenses was 22%.
Yearly Counts and Missing Medians
4 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the next September.
Fiscal year 2022 had 5 people, the most of any year, with a median of 63 months. Some years show n/a for the median, meaning the sheet has no median for them. Counts of 1 to 5 per year cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 63 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 2 | 37.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Fines and Other Terms, and What the Data Cannot Show
A fine was ordered for 8 people (57%), and restitution for none. 2 people (14%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 30 months.
All 14 people (100%) were in criminal history category I, the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and no details of any case are given.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (14). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, 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.