§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 177 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)." 101 (57%) received probation only, and 61 (34%) received a prison term with a median of 5 months. 162 people (92%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific › §2X5.2: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 177 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)." 101 (57%) received probation only, and 61 (34%) received a prison term with a median of 5 months. 162 people (92%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 177 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.
Probation Only Was the Most Common Result
In fiscal year 2016, the U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 177 people sentenced in federal court with §2X5.2 as the primary guideline. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 101 (57%).
A prison term went to 61 people (34%). The share sent to prison was lower than the 48% for fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together.
The Commission places these cases in the offense type Other. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Prison Terms for Those Who Received Them
Among the 61 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 5 months. A quarter received 10 months or more, and a quarter received 1 months or less.
The median was 5 months after a guilty plea. After a trial, it was 11 months, based on only 4 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
These are the terms imposed, not time served.
Nearly All Sentences Were Within the Range
Range information is recorded for all 177 people, and 162 of them (92%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
A sentence above the range was given to 10 (6%). A sentence below the range without a government request was given to 5 (3%), and none were below the range at the government's request.
Among all guidelines in fiscal year 2016, 49% of sentences were within the range, so the share here was higher. Under §2X5.2 across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the share was 84%.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 166 of 177 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial.
Among guilty pleas, 27% had a written plea agreement and 56% were straight pleas with no agreement. The remaining guilty pleas are not accounted for in those shares.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 117 people with that information recorded.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 34 people (19%), with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 102 people (58%), and restitution for 10 (6%).
In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category (category I) and 6% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Comparison With Other Years and All Guidelines
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 2,037 people were sentenced under §2X5.2. The median prison term was 3 months and 98% pleaded guilty. The next year, 2017, had 169 people, a median of 1.5 months, and 93% within the range. The table gives every year.
Counting every guideline, 67,742 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. Their median prison term was 24 months and 97% pleaded guilty.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 177 | 5 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 169 | 1.5 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 189 | 3 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 214 | 5.1 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 142 | 4.6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 175 | 2.2 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 214 | 3.3 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 339 | 7 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 202 | 0.3 months | 99% |
| 2025 | 216 | 0.1 months | 97% |
What the Records Do Not Cover
The data covers convicted and sentenced people only, so it says nothing about cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal.
Fiscal year 2016 ran from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. Because the approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, the numbers here are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X5.2 (177), 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.
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)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): 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.