Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
The median prison term for the 36 people sent to prison in the Southern District of New York under the Commission's offense type "National Defense" was 138 months (11.5 years). That covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 37 people were sentenced in all. The median prison term for this offense type in
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In brief: The median prison term for the 36 people sent to prison in the Southern District of New York under the Commission's offense type "National Defense" was 138 months (11.5 years). That covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 37 people were sentenced in all. The median prison term for this offense type in all 94 federal districts was 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 37 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.
A Median Prison Term of 138 Months
Of the 37 people sentenced, 36 (97%) received a prison term, and 1 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term for the 36 was 138 months, or 11.5 years.
A quarter of them received 246 months or more, and a quarter received 47.7 months or less. 2 people received a life sentence. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
In all districts together, 2,236 people were sentenced for this offense type, 84% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 24 months. This district's median is higher than that. For all offenses in this district, the median was 33 months.
What National Defense Covers
National Defense is a category used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The records place each case under its primary guideline, and the most common guidelines are listed here.
§2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose) applied to 17 people. §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls) applied to 11. §2M6.1 (Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction) applied to 5. §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License) applied to 3.
The offense type was less than 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in this district. Because the guidelines differ so much in subject, one median covers very different kinds of cases.
Trial Convictions Carried Longer Terms
30 of 37 people (81%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 97% of people with this offense type pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 63 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 7 people, so it is not a general rate. Among the guilty pleas, 73% had a written plea agreement, and 27% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
30% of sentences (11) were within the guideline range. 11% (4) were below the range at the government's request, and 59% (22) were below it without a government request. No sentence was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 36% of sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 22% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 9 of the 37 people (24%).
Small Counts in Each Year
16 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 21 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts October 1 and ends the next September.
No year had more than 7 people, and fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2025 each had 1. The yearly medians range widely, from 36 months to 300 months, and rest on very small groups.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 131.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 2 | 36 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 300 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2019 | 4 | 240 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2020 | 4 | 222 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 5 | 55 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2022 | 1 | 63 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 7 | 108 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2024 | 3 | 50 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
Supervised Release, Criminal History, and Missing Information
31 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 6 people (16%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 5 people (14%), and restitution for 3 (8%).
In criminal history, 43% were in category I, the lowest, and 57% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The records include only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and no facts about individual cases are given.
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 "National Defense" (37). 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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, 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.