§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
Fiscal year 2020 had 55 people sentenced under §2X3.1, the smallest group in the yearly table. Prison went to 45 (82%), and the median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). Only 35% were in the lowest criminal history category.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact › §2X3.1: FY2020
In brief: Fiscal year 2020 had 55 people sentenced under §2X3.1, the smallest group in the yearly table. Prison went to 45 (82%), and the median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). Only 35% were in the lowest criminal history category.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 55 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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 Smallest Year in the Table
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 55 people sentenced in fiscal year 2020 with §2X3.1 as the primary guideline. That is fewer than in any other year from 2016 to 2025 in the yearly table.
Because the group is small, single cases can move the percentages. One year does not show a trend.
Fiscal year 2020 ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.
Criminal History Was More Mixed
In criminal history terms, 35% were in category I, the lowest, and 9% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The criminal history category is the Commission's score for a person's prior record. It is one of the inputs that sets the guideline range. A larger share of people with prior records in a year can change how the sentences compare with other years, and the records do not isolate that effect.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 55 people, 45 (82%) received a prison term, and 10 (18%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median was 30 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
The median was 36 months in fiscal year 2019 and 27.6 months in fiscal year 2021. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2020, it was 18 months.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
A total of 51 of 55 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements covered 88% of guilty pleas, and 12% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 27 months. After a trial, it was 73.6 months. The trial figure is based on 4 people, so it is too small to show a pattern.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Within the range: 36% (20 people). Below the range at the government's request: 42% (23). Below the range without a government request: 22% (12). Above the range: 0% (0).
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2020, 50% of sentences were within the range. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the §2X3.1 figure was 32%. In fiscal year 2019 it was 32%, and in fiscal year 2021 it was 24%.
Guideline Title, Offense Types, and Other Orders
The Guidelines Manual titles §2X3.1 "Accessory After the Fact." The Commission's most common offense types for these cases were Robbery 16, Drug Trafficking 14, Murder 7, and Other 4.
Supervised release was ordered for 44 people (80%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (5%) and restitution for 13 (24%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 55 people (7%).
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. 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 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (55), 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 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 (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.