Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
The Western District of Michigan sentenced 524 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years). Across all 94 federal districts the median for firearms was 42 months. In this district, 64% of firearms sentences were within the guideline
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY201 › Firearms: Western District of Michigan
In brief: The Western District of Michigan sentenced 524 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years). Across all 94 federal districts the median for firearms was 42 months. In this district, 64% of firearms sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 524 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.
Median Terms Compared With the Country
Of the 524 people, 507 (97%) received a prison term, and 10 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 57 months. A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 78,851 people were sentenced for firearms offenses, 94% were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. The median in this district was therefore longer. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months.
One Guideline Covers Nearly Every Case
Firearms is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. In this district, 515 of the 524 cases used §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition).
1 case used §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials). Firearms cases were 17% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district.
Sentences Mostly Fell Within the Guideline Range
A sentence within the guideline range was given to 336 people (64%). 54 sentences (10%) were below the range at the government's request, and 108 (21%) were below it without a government request. 26 sentences (5%) were above the range.
Across all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. In this district, 54% of sentences for all offenses were within the range.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 508 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 16 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 57 months. After a trial it was 90 months, based on 16 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 65% had a written plea agreement and 34% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 58 of the 524 people (11%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 503 people (96%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 265 (51%), and restitution for 31 (6%).
By criminal history, 11% were in the lowest category, category I, and 21% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 182 people in this offense type from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 342 from 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts in the table range from 29 to 65 people.
Yearly medians stayed between 52.5 months and 62 months, and the table shows each one. The share who pleaded guilty in a single year ranged from 92% to 100%. A single year with so few people is a small group, so no single year should be read as a trend. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the records cannot show why individual sentences differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 29 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 54 | 58.5 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 50 | 54 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 49 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 55 | 54 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 64 | 52.5 months | 92% |
| 2022 | 43 | 62 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 51 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 64 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 65 | 60 months | 94% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (524). 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 Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, 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.