§2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Guideline §2X1.1 applied as the primary guideline to 152 people sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. 136 (89%) received prison, and the median prison term was 36 months, or 3 years. A mandatory minimum applied to 13 people (9%).
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In brief: Guideline §2X1.1 applied as the primary guideline to 152 people sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. 136 (89%) received prison, and the median prison term was 36 months, or 3 years. A mandatory minimum applied to 13 people (9%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 152 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
A Guideline for Attempts and Conspiracies
The Manual title is "Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)." By its title, it applies to attempts, solicitations, and conspiracies that no more specific guideline covers.
Because it is not tied to one offense, the Commission's offense types for these cases are mixed. The listed types are Robbery 30, Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement 24, Kidnapping 21, and Assault 12. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers appear.
Prison Terms
136 of 152 people (89%) were sent to prison, and 13 (9%) received probation only.
The median term was 36 months. A quarter received 71.2 months or more, and a quarter received 12.8 months or less. The terms are as imposed by the court, not time served, so they say nothing about early release. The spread between the 12.8-month and 71.2-month marks is wide.
Pleas and Trials
139 of 152 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 13 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 33 months after a guilty plea and 71.5 months after a trial, based on 12 people.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% had none. The mix of underlying offenses may differ between plea and trial cases, and the records do not break it down.
Range and Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 people (9%).
The sentence was within the guideline range for 43% (65 people). 30% (45) were below the range at the government's request, and 24% (37) were below it without a request. 3% (5) were above the range.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
131 people (86%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 36 months, and 2 people (1%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 11 (7%), and restitution for 22 (14%). 58% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 9% were in the highest.
Medians by Period and Year
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 67 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 36 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 85 people were sentenced and the median was 33 months.
The yearly medians in the table run from 20 months in fiscal year 2021 to 60 months in both fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2025. Years have 10 to 23 people, so single-year movement is weak evidence. The records cannot show a cause. Guilty pleas were 80% or more in every year, with the lowest at 80% in fiscal year 2022 and 100% in fiscal year 2019.
| 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% |
What Cannot Be Seen
Only convicted and sentenced people appear. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and the data does not say which attempt or conspiracy was involved beyond the offense types listed.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X1.1 (152), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2X7.2 Submersible and Semi-Submersible Vessels: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.