§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
Fiscal year 2023 had 339 people sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," more than any other year in the table. 149 (44%) received a sentence above the guideline range, and 221 (65%) received a prison term with a median of 7 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific › §2X5.2: FY2023
In brief: Fiscal year 2023 had 339 people sentenced under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," more than any other year in the table. 149 (44%) received a sentence above the guideline range, and 221 (65%) received a prison term with a median of 7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 339 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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 Highest Count in the Table
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 339 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023 with §2X5.2 as the primary guideline. The table shows that this is a higher count than in any other fiscal year from 2016 to 2025.
The Commission places these cases in the offense type Other. The records do not say what drove the larger count.
| 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% |
A Large Share Above the Guideline Range
Range information is recorded for 338 of the 339 people. A sentence above the guideline range was given to 149 (44%), and a sentence within the range to 186 (55%).
Only 3 people were sentenced below the range: 1 (less than 1%) at the government's request and 2 (less than 1%) without such a request.
The within-range share was lower than the 84% for fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together. It was also lower than the 83% in fiscal year 2022 and the 92% in fiscal year 2024, and higher than the 42% for all guidelines in fiscal year 2023.
Prison Terms and Probation
A prison term went to 221 of the 339 people (65%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 116 (34%).
The median prison term for those sent to prison was 7 months. A quarter received 9 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
The share sent to prison was higher than the 48% for the full period, and the median was higher than the 3 months for that period.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 335 of 339 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 7 months after a guilty plea.
After a trial, the median was 2.2 months, based on only 2 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 29% had a written plea agreement and 67% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 255 people with that information recorded, which is less than 1%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 206 people (61%), with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 123 people (36%), and restitution for 8 (2%).
In criminal history, 92% were in the lowest category (category I) and 0% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Neighboring Years and the Federal Total
Fiscal year 2022 had 214 people under this guideline, a median prison term of 3.3 months, and 83% within the range. Fiscal year 2024 had 202 people, a median of 0.3 months, and 92% within the range.
Over 2016 to 2025, 2,037 people were sentenced under §2X5.2, and 98% pleaded guilty.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023, 64,124 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 30 months.
Limits of the Data
The files cover only convicted and sentenced people. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are terms imposed, not time served.
Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. 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 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X5.2 (339), 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)
- §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 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.