§2H3.1 Interception of Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 10 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2H3.1. The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles it "Interception of Communications; Eavesdropping; Disclosure of Certain Private or Protected Information." 6 of the 10 (60%) received probation only, and 3 (30%) were sent
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In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 10 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2H3.1. The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles it "Interception of Communications; Eavesdropping; Disclosure of Certain Private or Protected Information." 6 of the 10 (60%) received probation only, and 3 (30%) were sent to prison with a median term of 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 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.
Probation for 6, Prison for 3
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 10 people in fiscal year 2023 whose primary guideline was §2H3.1. 6 (60%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 3 (30%) received a prison term.
The median prison term for those 3 people was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. With 3 people, these figures describe a very small group.
The all-years figures under this guideline cover 50 people. 34% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months, the same as in fiscal year 2023.
50% of Sentences Were Within the Range
5 sentences (50%) were within the guideline range. 3 (30%) were below the range at the government's request, and 1 (10%) was below it without a government request. 1 (10%) was above the range.
The all-years within-range share is 62%, so fiscal year 2023 was lower. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 under any guideline, the figure was 42%.
Guilty Pleas Across the Board
10 of the 10 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Every plea had a written plea agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 10.
The all-years guilty plea rate is 98%, and the rate for all guidelines in fiscal year 2023 was 97%.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 4 people (40%), and restitution for 2 people (20%). 3 people (30%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
All 10 people (100%) were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 0% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year 2023 in the Yearly Table
Fiscal year 2023 has the largest group in the table, at 10 people. Other years range from 1 to 7 people. Medians range from 0.1 months in fiscal year 2016 to 25 months in fiscal year 2019, and some years show n/a.
For every guideline in fiscal year 2023, 64,124 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 30 months. The Commission files the §2H3.1 cases under the offense type Individual Rights. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 0.1 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2017 | 7 | n/a | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 7 | 25 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 4 | 20.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 6 | n/a | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 10 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers appear here.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not describe individual cases, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. One year with 10 people does not show a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2H3.1 (10), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2H3.1 Interception of Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- 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.