§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
The median prison term under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," was 2.2 months in fiscal year 2021. 175 people were sentenced, 95 (54%) received probation only, and 77 (44%) received a prison term.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific › §2X5.2: FY2021
In brief: The median prison term under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," was 2.2 months in fiscal year 2021. 175 people were sentenced, 95 (54%) received probation only, and 77 (44%) received a prison term.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 175 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.
Short Prison Terms and Frequent Probation
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 175 people sentenced in fiscal year 2021 with §2X5.2 as the primary guideline. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 95 (54%), and a prison term went to 77 (44%).
The 77 people sent to prison had a median prison term of 2.2 months. One quarter of them received 4 months or more, and one quarter received 0.3 months or less.
The 2.2-month median was lower than the 3 months for the full period from 2016 to 2025. The neighboring years had higher medians: 4.6 months in fiscal year 2020 and 3.3 months in fiscal year 2022.
| 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% |
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
A total of 173 of 175 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term was 2.2 months after a guilty plea and 3.2 months after a trial. The trial figure comes from 2 people, so it is not a basis for comparison.
Of the guilty pleas, 39% came with a written plea agreement, and 49% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Range Position and Mandatory Minimums
The Commission has range information for all 175 people. Within the guideline range: 159 (91%). Above the range: 12 (7%).
Below the range at the government's request: 2 (1%). Below the range without a government request: 2 (1%).
Of the 91 people with mandatory minimum information recorded, none had one apply. The 91% within-range share was higher than the 43% for all guidelines in fiscal year 2021.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Courts ordered supervised release after prison for 56 people (32%). The median term was 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 104 people (59%), and restitution for 8 (5%).
In criminal history, 83% were in the lowest category (category I) and 3% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Comparison With Other Years and the Federal Total
Fiscal year 2020 had 142 people, a median prison term of 4.6 months, and 80% within the range. Fiscal year 2022 had 214 people, a median of 3.3 months, and 83% within the range.
For 2016 to 2025, 2,037 people were sentenced under §2X5.2. Of those, 48% went to prison, 98% pleaded guilty, and 84% were within the range.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 29 months and 98% guilty pleas. The Commission places the §2X5.2 cases in the offense type Other.
Limits of the Records
Acquittals and dismissals are absent because the data counts convicted and sentenced people only. The prison terms shown were imposed by the court and are not time served.
Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X5.2 (175), 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 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): 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.