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# Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:48.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,584 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 36 months (3 years), lower than the 42 months for all 94 federal districts. Mandatory minimums applied to 146 people (9%), and 51% received a sentence below
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) › Firearms: Eastern District of Michigan

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,584 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 36 months (3 years), lower than the 42 months for all 94 federal districts. Mandatory minimums applied to 146 people (9%), and 51% received a sentence below the range without a government request.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,584 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Below-Range Sentences Were Most Common

The Commission recorded the guideline position for 1,583 people. The largest group, 51% (813), was sentenced below the range without a government request. Within the range were 38% (601), below the range at the government's request were 9% (137), and above the range were 2% (32).

For all 94 districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the guideline range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share within the range here equals the district-wide share and is lower than the national share for firearms.

## Prison Terms and Probation

Of the 1,584 people, 1,501 (95%) received a prison term and 65 (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 94% were sent to prison.

The median prison term was 36 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. The median for all offenses in this district was also 36 months.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

Guilty pleas accounted for 1,547 people (98%), and 37 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 97% pleaded guilty in firearms cases, and 96% did for all offenses in this district.

After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 36 months. After a trial, it was 78 months, based on 35 people sent to prison. The trial median is higher than the plea median. The records cannot show whether the cases differed in other ways.

Among guilty pleas, 83% had a written plea agreement and 17% were straight pleas.

## The Guidelines Behind the Category

"Firearms" is the Commission's offense type, which it assigns from the primary guideline. The most common was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), used for 1,525 people.

Smaller numbers were sentenced under §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), 7, §2K1.1 (Failure to Report Theft of Explosive Materials), 1, and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility), 1.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 146 of the 1,584 people (9%).

## Other Terms and Criminal History

Supervised release followed prison for 1,484 people (94%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 23 people (1%) and restitution for 61 (4%).

In criminal history, 15% were in the lowest category (category I) and 12% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Share of the District's Caseload and Yearly Counts

Firearms cases were 21% of the 7,508 people sentenced in this district in these years. There were 539 firearms cases in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,045 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.

The table lists each fiscal year, which begins on October 1\. Medians range from 34 months to 40 months, and yearly counts range from 91 to 218 people. The numbers show no change that can be tied to any cause.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 136              | 40 months     | 93%            |
| 2017        | 164              | 37 months     | 99%            |
| 2018        | 118              | 38 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 121              | 40 months     | 98%            |
| 2020        | 91               | 34 months     | 99%            |
| 2021        | 150              | 36 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2022        | 218              | 35 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 212              | 36 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 158              | 35 months     | 97%            |
| 2025        | 216              | 35 months     | more than 99%  |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,584). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-eastern-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.