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# Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-individual-rights-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:02.000Z
- Description: The sheet lists 18 people sentenced for the Commission's offense type "Individual Rights" in the Southern District of New York, in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 16 of them (89%) received a prison term, and the median was 7.5 months. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median prison t
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) › Individual Rights Offense: Southern District of New York

**In brief:** The sheet lists 18 people sentenced for the Commission's offense type "Individual Rights" in the Southern District of New York, in fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. 16 of them (89%) received a prison term, and the median was 7.5 months. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median prison term was 30 months.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A Small Group With a Median of 7.5 Months

16 of the 18 people (89%) were sentenced to prison, and 2 (11%) received probation only. The median prison term was 7.5 months. A quarter received 40 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less.

The spread between those quartile figures shows that the terms varied widely. The median alone does not describe the group.

In all districts, 855 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 68% were sent to prison. The median prison term was 30 months, which is higher than here. For all offenses in this district, the median was 33 months.

## Trial and Plea Sentences

16 of 18 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 80% pleaded guilty.

After a guilty plea the median prison term was 6 months. After a trial it was 93.5 months, based on 2 people. A group of 2 is not enough to say anything general about trials.

Among the guilty pleas, 75% had a written plea agreement, and 25% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Which Guidelines Apply?

Individual Rights is a Commission offense type. §2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights) was the primary guideline for 13 people. §2H2.1 (Obstructing an Election or Registration) was the primary guideline for 5 people.

The cases were less than 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The sheet's own count for this offense type begins in fiscal year 2017.

## Guideline Range Results

44% of the sentences (8) were within the guideline range. 11% (2) were below the range at the government's request, and 44% (8) were below it without a government request. None was above the range.

For this offense type in all districts, 38% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it was 22%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 18 people.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

10 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the following September.

Fiscal year 2018 had the most people, with 5\. Several fiscal years have no row in the table, and others have 1 to 3 people. These counts are too small to show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 2                | 7.5 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 5                | 40 months     | 3 of 5         |
| 2019        | 3                | 1.5 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 40 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 10.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 3                | 31.5 months   | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 2                | 3 months      | 2 of 2         |

## Release Terms, Criminal History, and What Is Not Shown

16 people (89%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (39%), and restitution for none.

All 18 people (100%) were in criminal history category I, the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in this data, and the records do not describe what happened in any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (18). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.