§2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Among the 173 people sentenced under §2X4.1 in fiscal year 2021, a mandatory minimum applied to 1 (less than 1%). Prison went to 99 people (57%), and probation only went to 64 (37%). The median prison term was 12 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony › §2X4.1: FY2021
In brief: Among the 173 people sentenced under §2X4.1 in fiscal year 2021, a mandatory minimum applied to 1 (less than 1%). Prison went to 99 people (57%), and probation only went to 64 (37%). The median prison term was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 173 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.
A Rare Mandatory Minimum
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 173 people with that information recorded in fiscal year 2021. That is the only person with a mandatory minimum in this year's cases.
The records do not identify the case or explain why a minimum applied. A mandatory minimum is a prison term fixed by statute as a floor.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 173 people, 99 (57%) received a prison term. Another 64 (37%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 21 months or more. A quarter received 0.1 months or less. The wide spread between that figure and 21 months means individual terms varied a great deal.
Supervised release followed prison for 87 people (50%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 16 people (9%), and restitution for 18 (10%).
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
Within the guideline range were 49% (85). Below the range at the government's request were 28% (49), and below the range without a request were 20% (35). Above the range were 2% (4).
The year before, with 155 people under this guideline, had 47% within the range. The year after, with 213 people, had 46%. Across 2016 to 2025, the share for §2X4.1 was 48%. For every federal case in fiscal year 2021, the share was 43%.
Guilty Pleas Only
Every one of the 173 people (100%) pleaded guilty. No one was convicted after a trial, so the data has no trial sentences to compare. A written plea agreement was part of 98% of the pleas, and 2% had none.
Criminal History and Federal Totals
In criminal history, 69% of the people were in category I, the lowest, and 3% were in category VI, the highest.
All federal cases in fiscal year 2021 totaled 57,287 people. Their median prison term was 29 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The median for all federal cases was higher than the 12-month median under this guideline, and the groups include different offenses.
Under §2X4.1 from 2016 to 2025 there were 2,122 people, 54% went to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months. The table gives the count for each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 290 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 306 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 234 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 268 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 155 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 173 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 213 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 151 | 10.3 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 170 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 162 | 12 months | 100% |
Guideline Title and Data Boundaries
The Guidelines Manual title is "Misprision of Felony", and the Commission's offense type for these cases is Administration of Justice.
People who were acquitted, or whose cases were dismissed, are outside the Commission's sentencing files. The court-martial crosswalk has no close counterpart to this guideline, so the figures here are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X4.1 (173), 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)
- §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: 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.