§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
In fiscal year 2022, 214 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)." 105 (49%) received a prison term and 106 (50%) received probation only. 36 people (17%) were sentenced above the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific › §2X5.2: FY2022
In brief: In fiscal year 2022, 214 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)." 105 (49%) received a prison term and 106 (50%) received probation only. 36 people (17%) were sentenced above the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 214 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022. 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.
Prison and Probation Were Nearly Even
Of the 214 people sentenced in fiscal year 2022 with §2X5.2 as the primary guideline, 105 (49%) received a prison term. Another 106 (50%) received probation only, meaning no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 3.3 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 8 months or more, and a quarter received 0.3 months or less.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the median was 3 months and 48% of people were sent to prison. Fiscal year 2022 was close to both figures.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
The Commission has range information for all 214 people. A sentence within the range was given to 178 (83%), and a sentence above the range to 36 (17%).
No one was sentenced below the range, with or without a government request. The 83% within-range share was lower than the 91% in fiscal year 2021 and the 84% for the full period, but higher than the 55% in fiscal year 2023.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 124 people with that information recorded.
One Trial Conviction
A total of 213 of 214 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial.
With 1 trial conviction, the data does not give a trial prison term that can be compared with the plea group.
Among the guilty pleas, 43% had a written plea agreement and 54% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 80 people (37%), with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 120 people (56%), and restitution for 6 (3%).
The criminal history data show 84% in the lowest category (category I) and less than 1% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Other Years and Other Guidelines
Fiscal year 2021 had 175 people under this guideline and a median prison term of 2.2 months. Fiscal year 2023 had 339 people and a median of 7 months. The table lists every year.
Across 2016 to 2025, 2,037 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, and 98% pleaded guilty.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2022, 64,142 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 30 months, 97% guilty pleas, and 42% within the range. The Commission places the §2X5.2 cases in the offense type Other.
| 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 Numbers Leave Out
The Commission files hold only convicted and sentenced people, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear. Prison terms are the terms imposed.
Fiscal year 2022 ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are given. The records do not say why 36 sentences were above the range.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X5.2 (214), 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 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.