§2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 23 of the 74 people sentenced under §2A6.2 (31%) received a sentence within the guideline range, and 24 (32%) were below the range at the government's request. The median prison term was 34 months (2.8 years).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence › §2A6.2: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 23 of the 74 people sentenced under §2A6.2 (31%) received a sentence within the guideline range, and 24 (32%) were below the range at the government's request. The median prison term was 34 months (2.8 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 74 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 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.
A Smaller Share Within the Guideline Range
The share of sentences within the range was 31% in fiscal year 2023. In fiscal year 2022 it was 40%, and in fiscal year 2024 it was 38%. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 it was 42%, and for all guidelines in fiscal year 2023 it was 42%.
Of the 74 sentences, 24 (32%) were below the range at the government's request. 16 (22%) were below the range without that request. 11 sentences (15%) were above the range.
Prison Terms
69 of the 74 people (93%) were sentenced to prison, and 3 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 34 months. A quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
The median for all guidelines in fiscal year 2023 was 30 months. For §2A6.2 across the full period, it was 35 months.
Trial Medians Based on a Handful of People
68 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 31.5 months after a guilty plea and 121 months after a trial.
The trial median is based on 5 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. That is too few people to draw a general conclusion. 91% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas.
Mandatory Minimums, Fines, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 74 people with that information recorded (8%).
69 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (5%), and restitution for 18 (24%).
Criminal History
57% of the people were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 9% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Classification and Table
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual gives §2A6.2 the title "Stalking or Domestic Violence." The offense type in the Commission's data is Stalking/Harassing. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
In fiscal year 2022, 79 people were sentenced under this guideline, and in fiscal year 2024 the count was 73. The table shows each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 36 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 43 | 37 months | 88% |
| 2018 | 63 | 38.5 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 80 | 33 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 63 | 33 months | 92% |
| 2021 | 55 | 31 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 79 | 33 months | 91% |
| 2023 | 74 | 34 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 73 | 38 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 90 | 35.5 months | 89% |
What Cannot Be Concluded
A case is counted when §2A6.2 set the offense level for its most serious count. Other counts are not described. Prison terms are those imposed at sentencing, and the median is the middle value when terms are listed from shortest to longest.
The records show where each sentence fell against the range, but not the reason. They also exclude acquittals and dismissals, because only convicted and sentenced people are counted.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. The post therefore reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.2 (74), 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.
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)
- §2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.