Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
Every one of the 24 people sentenced for national defense offenses in the District of New Jersey pleaded guilty. 21 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 34 months, compared with a median of 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 › National Defense Offense: District of New Jersey
In brief: Every one of the 24 people sentenced for national defense offenses in the District of New Jersey pleaded guilty. 21 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 34 months, compared with a median of 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 24 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 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.
All 24 Cases Ended in Guilty Pleas
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "National Defense" covers export control and related national security cases. In the District of New Jersey, 24 people were sentenced in this category in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. That is less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district in the full period.
All 24 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Guilty pleas were also 97% for all districts in this category and for all offenses in the district.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
21 of the 24 (88%) received a prison term, and 3 (13%) received probation only. Across all 94 districts, 84% of the 2,236 people in this category were sent to prison.
The median prison term here was 34 months (2.8 years). A quarter received 64.3 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. The all-districts median was 24 months, which is lower. The median for all offenses in the district was 37 months, which is higher than the 34 months for this category.
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 24 sentences, 4 (17%) were within the range. 18 (75%) were below the range at the government's request, and 2 (8%) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
For all districts, 36% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 37%. The share within the range here is lower than both.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License), with 13 people. §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose) applied to 7. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 2, and §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls) to 1.
No one had a mandatory minimum prison term recorded. For criminal history, 67% were in criminal history category I and 33% were in category VI.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
21 people (88%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months, and 5 people (21%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 4 people (17%) and restitution for 3 (13%).
Year-by-Year Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 13 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 11. The table lists years with sentences. Each year has only 2 to 5 people, so the yearly medians move widely and are not trends. The median was 108 months in fiscal year 2018 and 12 months in fiscal year 2017, each based on small groups.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 42 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 108 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | 46 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 13.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 2 | 107 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 64.3 months | 2 of 2 |
Limits of These Records
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The records do not show the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (24). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.