§2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, the median prison term under §2X1.1 was 20 months, the lowest median among the yearly figures in the table. 14 of the 16 people (88%) received a prison term. 2 sentences (13%) were above the guideline range, and 1 person (6%) received supervised release for life.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by › §2X1.1: FY2021
In brief: In fiscal year 2021, the median prison term under §2X1.1 was 20 months, the lowest median among the yearly figures in the table. 14 of the 16 people (88%) received a prison term. 2 sentences (13%) were above the guideline range, and 1 person (6%) received supervised release for life.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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 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.
The Median Prison Term Was 20 Months
Among the 14 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 20 months. A quarter received 65.8 months or more, and a quarter received 6.1 months or less. The spread between those figures is large.
The all-years median for §2X1.1 is 36 months. The previous fiscal year, 2020, had a median of 24 months, and the next, 2022, had 33 months. The 2021 median was lower than each of these figures.
For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 under every guideline, the median prison term was 29 months. These are prison terms imposed, not time served.
Sentences Above the Range and Supervised Release for Life
6 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range, and 6 (38%) were below the range at the government's request. 2 (13%) were below the range without a government request, and 2 (13%) were above the range.
Sentences above the range were 2 of 16 in fiscal year 2021, which is a small number.
12 people (75%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 1 person (6%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 1 (6%), and restitution for 1 (6%).
Plea and Trial Outcomes
15 of the 16 (94%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 10 months. After a trial it was 50 months, based on that 1 person.
Among guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 16 people with that information recorded (13%).
How This Guideline Is Used
Guideline §2X1.1 is titled "Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. In fiscal year 2021, which ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, 16 people were sentenced with it as the primary guideline.
The Commission's offense types for them were Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement 3, Forgery/Counter/Copyright 3, Firearms 2, and Arson 1. The guideline is a general one, so the underlying offenses differ.
56% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, and 13% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Overall Record and Limits
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 152 people were sentenced under §2X1.1. 89% were sent to prison, guilty pleas were 91%, and sentences within the range were 43%. In fiscal year 2021, 38% were within the range, and for all guidelines it was 43%.
The 2021 count of 16 is small. The records cannot show a trend from one year. All federal sentences that year totaled 57,287 people, with guilty pleas of 98%.
The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so these are federal numbers on their own.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 60 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 15 | 28 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 23 | 27 months | 83% |
| 2019 | 16 | 36.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 13 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2021 | 16 | 20 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 15 | 33 months | 80% |
| 2023 | 20 | 41 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 10 | 33.5 months | 90% |
| 2025 | 11 | 60 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X1.1 (16), 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)
- §2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (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.