§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 82 people were sentenced in federal court with §2X3.1 as the primary guideline. Of those, 62 (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 26.1 months (2.2 years). The U.S. Sentencing Commission's records place these cases in several offense types, with Robbery 17
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact › §2X3.1: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 82 people were sentenced in federal court with §2X3.1 as the primary guideline. Of those, 62 (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 26.1 months (2.2 years). The U.S. Sentencing Commission's records place these cases in several offense types, with Robbery 17 and Murder 15 the largest.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 82 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
What §2X3.1 Is and Which Offense Types Appear
Guideline §2X3.1 is titled "Accessory After the Fact" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
This guideline is not tied to a single offense type. In fiscal year 2016, the Commission's offense types for these cases were Robbery 17, Murder 15, Drug Trafficking 10, and Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement 9. Those are the most common types listed.
The records do not say what any individual did. They show only the Commission's category for each case.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 82 people, 62 (76%) received a prison term, and 17 (21%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median was 26.1 months. A quarter received 59.2 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. The terms are those imposed and not the time served.
Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2016, the median prison term was 24 months, and over fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2X3.1 it was 30 months.
How Sentences Related to the Guideline Range
Within the range: 33% (27 people). Below the range at the government's request: 33% (27). Below the range without a government request: 27% (22). Above the range: 7% (6).
Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2016, 49% of sentences were within the range. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the §2X3.1 share was 32%. In fiscal year 2017, it was 38%.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
A total of 76 of 82 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements covered 92% of the guilty pleas, and 8% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 24 months. After a trial it was 59.5 months. The trial figure rests on 6 people sent to prison, so it is a small group and should not be read as a rule about trials.
Criminal History, Supervised Release, and Payments
By criminal history, 48% were in the lowest category, category I, and 7% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised release followed prison for 61 people (74%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 10 (12%) and restitution for 18 (22%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 82 people (2%).
The Years Around 2016 and Limits
Fiscal year 2016 ran from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, and it is the first year in the table. In fiscal year 2017, 99 people were sentenced, with a median of 25 months. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 827 people were sentenced and 84% went to prison.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 82 | 26.1 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 99 | 25 months | 89% |
| 2018 | 90 | 27 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 88 | 36 months | 91% |
| 2020 | 55 | 30 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 71 | 27.6 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 97 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 82 | 26 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 90 | 48 months | 89% |
| 2025 | 73 | 24 months | 90% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (82), 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)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (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.