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# §2A2.3 Assault: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault-fy2023/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:58.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2023, 62 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A2.3, "Assault," as the primary guideline. Prison went to 33 (53%), and the median prison term was 6.3 months. Of the 62, 59 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A2.3 Assault](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault/) › §2A2.3: FY2023

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2023, 62 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A2.3, "Assault," as the primary guideline. Prison went to 33 (53%), and the median prison term was 6.3 months. Of the 62, 59 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial.

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 62 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023\. 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/).

## Plea and Trial Results in 2023

A total of 59 of 62 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023, guilty pleas were 97%.

The median prison term was 6.1 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 60 months, but that figure is based on 1 person who was convicted at trial and sent to prison. A single case cannot show how trials and pleas differ.

Among the guilty pleas, 81% had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 60 people with that information recorded.

## Prison, Probation, and Supervised Release

Prison was imposed on 33 of the 62 (53%), and 26 (42%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Over all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 62% of the 758 people under this guideline went to prison, so the 2023 share was lower.

The median prison term was 6.3 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0.4 months or less. For everyone sentenced in federal court in 2023, the median prison term was 30 months.

After prison, 32 people (52%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 18 months. A fine was ordered for 7 (11%), and restitution for 13 (21%).

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range

For the 61 people with the information, 69% (42) were within the advisory range. Another 16% (10) were below the range at the government's request, and 7% (4) were below it without a government request. Above the range: 8% (5).

Sentences within the range were higher than the 42% for all federal cases in 2023\. They were lower than the 78% in 2022 and 2024 for this guideline, and lower than the 72% for all years.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 77               | 5.8 months    | 97%            |
| 2017        | 105              | 6.7 months    | 96%            |
| 2018        | 82               | 7.1 months    | 96%            |
| 2019        | 111              | 7 months      | 95%            |
| 2020        | 79               | 7 months      | 96%            |
| 2021        | 76               | 6.6 months    | 99%            |
| 2022        | 68               | 6 months      | 97%            |
| 2023        | 62               | 6.3 months    | 95%            |
| 2024        | 51               | 6 months      | 92%            |
| 2025        | 47               | 6 months      | 96%            |

## Criminal History

In criminal history, 58% were in the lowest category, category I, and 5% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Reading One Year of Data

The previous year had 68 people and a median prison term of 6 months. The next year had 51 people and a median of 6 months. The Commission lists the offense type for all 62 cases as Assault.

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023\. One year with 62 people is not a trend.

The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers here are federal only.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A2.3 (62), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.

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](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)
- [§2A2.3 Assault: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault/) (overview)
- [§2A2.3 Assault: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A2.3 Assault: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault-fy2024/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [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.