> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A2.3 Assault: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-3-assault/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:49.000Z - Description: Guideline §2A2.3, titled Assault, was the primary guideline for 758 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Prison was ordered for 467 (62%), with a median term of 6.2 months. Within-range sentences were 72% of the total. - 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 **In brief:** Guideline §2A2.3, titled Assault, was the primary guideline for 758 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Prison was ordered for 467 (62%), with a median term of 6.2 months. Within-range sentences were 72% of the total. Updated November 2, 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 758 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/). ## A Guideline Where Most Sentences Fell Within the Range In 540 of 755 cases with range information (72%), the sentence was within the guideline range. Sentences below the range at the government's request were 58 (8%). Below the range without such a request, there were 93 (12%). Above the range, there were 64 (8%). ## What the Guideline Covers Guideline §2A2.3 is titled "Assault" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The Sentencing Commission classifies all 758 people in this group as Assault cases. The figures count people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary guideline was §2A2.3. ## Prison, Probation, and Length of Terms A prison term was ordered for 467 people (62%). Probation only was ordered for 264 (35%). The median prison term was 6.2 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less. ## Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas made up 728 of 758 cases (96%), and 30 people were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 83% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 6.2 months after a guilty plea and 6 months after a trial. Those are about the same. The trial median is based on 21 people, so it is a small group. The share of people who pleaded guilty stayed between 92% and 99% in every year of the period. ## Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Money Orders A mandatory minimum applied to 1 person. Supervised release followed prison for 430 people (57%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 77 people (10%) and restitution for 143 (19%). In criminal history, 58% were in the lowest category and 4% in the highest. ## Trends by Fiscal Year In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 375 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 6.6 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 383 were sentenced and the median was 6 months. Yearly counts fell from 111 in 2019 to 47 in 2025\. The yearly median stayed between 5.8 months and 7.1 months. The data does not show the reason for the lower counts. The 6.2-month median describes only the 467 people sent to prison. The 264 people who received probation only are not part of it, and the 12-month and 2-month figures show how widely the prison terms varied. The yearly figures do not break out the cases by the type of assault involved. | 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% | ## Limits Acquittals and dismissals are not in this data. Prison terms are terms imposed, not time served. The crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the post stays with federal figures. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A2.3 (758), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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. **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) - [§2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-5-failure-to-register-as-a-sex-offender/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/) (same guideline chapter part) - [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.