§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
The median prison term under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," was 18.9 months in fiscal year 2018. 204 people were sentenced, and 174 (85%) received a prison term. 189 (93%) pleaded guilty, and 15 were convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe › §2C1.1: FY2018
In brief: The median prison term under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," was 18.9 months in fiscal year 2018. 204 people were sentenced, and 174 (85%) received a prison term. 189 (93%) pleaded guilty, and 15 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 204 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 204 people sentenced with §2C1.1 as the primary guideline. A prison term was given to 174 (85%), and probation only to 12 (6%).
The median prison term for those sent to prison was 18.9 months. A quarter received 40 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
The 18.9-month median was lower than the 19 months for all of fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It was also lower than the 21 months in fiscal year 2017 and the 21 months in fiscal year 2019.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 189 of the 204 people (93%) pleaded guilty. The other 15 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial, it was 51 months, based on 15 people who were convicted and sent to prison.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Within the Range, Below It, and Above It
The Commission has range information for all 204 people. A sentence within the guideline range was given to 51 (25%).
A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 90 (44%). A sentence below the range without a government request was given to 60 (29%). A sentence above the range was given to 3 (1%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 204 people with that information recorded, which is less than 1%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
After prison, 169 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 51 people (25%), and restitution for 62 (30%).
In criminal history, 86% were in the lowest category (category I), and less than 1% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How the Year Compares
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, 2,058 people were sentenced under §2C1.1. In that period, 79% went to prison, 91% pleaded guilty, and 20% were within the range.
The previous year, 2017, had 205 people and 22% within the range. The next year, 2019, had 245 people and 16% within the range. The table shows every year.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, the count was 69,425 people. Their median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 51% were sentenced within the range. The §2C1.1 within-range share was lower than that.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 260 | 24 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 205 | 21 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 204 | 18.9 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 245 | 21 months | 90% |
| 2020 | 139 | 14 months | 88% |
| 2021 | 143 | 24 months | 91% |
| 2022 | 213 | 22 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 226 | 22.1 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 220 | 16.5 months | 87% |
| 2025 | 203 | 15.5 months | 91% |
What Is Not Counted
The Commission files cover only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissals and acquittals are not included, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so these federal numbers stand alone.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2C1.1 (204), 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)
- §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (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.