> ## 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. # §2J1.3 Perjury or Subornation of Perjury: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2j1-3-perjury-or-subornation-of-perjury-fy2019/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:30:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:30:44.000Z - Description: 16 of the 21 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.3 in fiscal year 2019 (76%) received a prison term, with a median prison term of 10 months. 18 of the 21 (86%) pleaded guilty. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person (5%). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2J1.3 Perjury or Subornation of Perjury](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2j1-3-perjury-or-subornation-of-perjury/) › §2J1.3: FY2019 **In brief:** 16 of the 21 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.3 in fiscal year 2019 (76%) received a prison term, with a median prison term of 10 months. 18 of the 21 (86%) pleaded guilty. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person (5%). 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 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. 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/). ## Who Went to Prison in Fiscal Year 2019 The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 with §2J1.3 as the primary guideline. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Perjury or Subornation of Perjury; Bribery of Witness." 16 of the 21 (76%) received a prison term, and 4 (19%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 60% were sent to prison, so the 2019 share was higher. The median prison term was 10 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 12.8 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. The median for all years together was 12 months. ## The Mandatory Minimum A mandatory minimum is a prison term that a statute requires the court to impose. In this group it applied to 1 of the 21 people (5%). The records for this post do not say which charge carried the minimum. ## Trials Versus Guilty Pleas 3 of the 21 people were convicted after a trial, and 18 (86%) pleaded guilty. The 86% plea rate was lower than the 92% for all years and the 98% for all federal cases that year. Among guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 11 months. After a trial it was 3.5 months, based on 2 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The trial figure rests on 2 cases, so it cannot show how trial and plea sentences generally compare. ## Against the Guideline Range The guideline range is the range the Manual calculates for a case. 10 of the 21 sentences (48%) were within the range. 3 (14%) were below it at the government's request, and 8 (38%) were below it without a government request. 0 were above the range. The 48% within the range was higher than the 32% for all years under this guideline. It was lower than the 51% for all federal cases in fiscal year 2019. ## Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History 16 people (76%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 30 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (5%), and restitution for 1 (5%). 76% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 5% were in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Surrounding Years and the Table Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019\. In fiscal year 2018, 29 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 12 months, and 24% were within the range. In fiscal year 2020, 20 people were sentenced, the median was 11 months, and 45% were within the range. All federal cases that year, under every guideline, number 76,538 people, with a median prison term of 21 months. The table lists each year's count, median, and plea rate. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 40 | 8 months | 90% | | 2017 | 36 | 12 months | 92% | | 2018 | 29 | 12 months | 93% | | 2019 | 21 | 10 months | 86% | | 2020 | 20 | 11 months | 95% | | 2021 | 18 | 12 months | 94% | | 2022 | 13 | 15 months | 92% | | 2023 | 15 | 14 months | 93% | | 2024 | 20 | 7.1 months | 90% | | 2025 | 13 | 4 months | 92% | ## What the Data Leaves Out Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are absent. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. These cases fall under the Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type. A group of 21 is small, and one year does not show a trend. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers appear. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2J1.3 (21), 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](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) - [§2J1.3 Perjury or Subornation of Perjury: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2j1-3-perjury-or-subornation-of-perjury/) (overview) - [§2J1.3 Perjury or Subornation of Perjury: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2j1-3-perjury-or-subornation-of-perjury-fy2018/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2J1.3 Perjury or Subornation of Perjury: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2j1-3-perjury-or-subornation-of-perjury-fy2020/) (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.