Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maine, 249 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 219 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months, and 30 (12%) received probation only. The median prison term is lower than the 42 months for firearms cases across all 94 fe
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 › Firearms: District of Maine
In brief: In the District of Maine, 249 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 219 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months, and 30 (12%) received probation only. The median prison term is lower than the 42 months for firearms cases across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 249 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.
Prison or Probation: How the 249 Cases Ended
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 249 people sentenced for firearms offenses in the District of Maine. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 30 of them (12%). Across all 94 districts, 94% of firearms cases ended in a prison term, so Maine used probation only more often.
Among the 219 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). A quarter received 57 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
One Guideline Covers Nearly Every Case
The Commission's offense type is a category, and each case also has a primary guideline. In Maine, 247 of the 249 firearms cases were sentenced primarily under §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition).
Firearms cases were 15% of the 1,628 people sentenced in the district in these years. The median prison term for all offenses in Maine was 36 months, which is higher than the firearms median of 30 months.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Among the 249 people, 31% (76) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 36% (89) were below the range at the government's request, and 28% (70) were below the range without a government request. Sentences above the range numbered 14 (6%).
Across all offenses in Maine, 30% of sentences were within the range. For firearms cases in all districts, the figure was 52%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 249 people with that information recorded (3%).
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
Of the 249 people, 240 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 30 months after a guilty plea and 36 months after a trial, which is based on 9 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 51% had a written plea agreement and 49% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 216 people (87%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 11 (4%), and restitution for 16 (6%).
Prison terms in this data are the terms imposed, not the time served.
Criminal History
Among the 249 people, 27% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 18% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the military side has no matching measure.
Yearly Counts and Median Terms
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 102 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 147 people. A fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September.
The table lists each year. Yearly counts range from 16 people to 32 people, and the median prison term ranges from 5.3 months in fiscal year 2022 to 47 months in fiscal year 2016. With yearly groups this small, the records cannot show whether any change is a trend or why it occurred.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 47 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 32 | 33 months | 91% |
| 2018 | 23 | 35.5 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 27 | 24 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 16 | 36 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 28 | 23.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 24 | 5.3 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 23 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 24 | 17.9 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 32 | 36 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maine (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maine") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (249). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maine, 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.