> ## 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. # §2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2021/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:26.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:26.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2021, 13 of the 143 people sentenced under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 60 months. The median after a guilty plea was 21.5 months. Overall, 111 people (78%) received a prison term. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe/) › §2C1.1: FY2021 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2021, 13 of the 143 people sentenced under §2C1.1, "Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe," were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 60 months. The median after a guilty plea was 21.5 months. Overall, 111 people (78%) received a prison term. 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 143 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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/). ## Trial Convictions Carried Longer Terms in Fiscal Year 2021 The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 143 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 with §2C1.1 as the primary guideline. Of these, 130 (91%) pleaded guilty and 13 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 21.5 months. After a trial, the median was 60 months, based on 13 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. With only 13 people, the trial figure describes that group alone. It cannot show how any other trial would end. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Prison and Probation Overall A prison term was given to 111 of the 143 people (78%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 22 (15%). The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter of those sent to prison received 39.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. ## No Mandatory Minimums and Few Within-Range Sentences A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 143 people with that information recorded. A sentence within the guideline range was given to 31 (22%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 57 (40%), and one below the range without a government request to 54 (38%). A sentence above the range was given to 1 person (less than 1%). The 22% within-range share was higher than the 20% for all years from 2016 to 2025, and lower than the 43% for all guidelines in fiscal year 2021. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release after prison was ordered for 109 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 39 people (27%) and restitution for 45 (31%). In criminal history, 90% were in the lowest category (category I) and 2% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Other Years and the Whole Federal System The previous year, 2020, had 139 people, a median prison term of 14 months, and 9% within the range. The next year, 2022, had 213 people, a median of 22 months, and 19% within the range. The table lists all years. For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, 2,058 people were sentenced under this guideline. In that period, 79% went to prison, the median was 19 months, and 91% pleaded guilty. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced. Their median prison term was 29 months and 98% pleaded guilty. | 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 Missing From the Records The Commission counts only convicted and sentenced people. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are terms imposed, not time served. Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021\. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers are reported on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2C1.1 (143), 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) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe/) (overview) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2C1.1 Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2c1-1-offering-giving-soliciting-or-receiving-a-bribe-fy2022/) (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.