> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-national-defense-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:45.000Z - Description: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 500 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 481 of them had an arms export guideline as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 25 months (2.1 years). No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 499 people with that inf - 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 Texas, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) › National Defense Offense: Southern District of Texas **In brief:** The Southern District of Texas sentenced 500 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 481 of them had an arms export guideline as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 25 months (2.1 years). No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 499 people with that information recorded. 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 500 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/). ## Mostly Arms Export Cases National Defense is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for a group of offenses involving security and export controls. In this district, 481 people had §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License) as the primary guideline. The other primary guidelines were rare. §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls) had 9 people. §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)) had 4, and §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose) had 4. These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 500 people, 479 (96%) received a prison term, and 16 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term was 25 months. A quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. Across all 94 districts, 2,236 people were sentenced for national defense offenses, 84% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 24 months. The district's median was about the same as the national one. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 14 | 38.5 months | 100% | | 2017 | 35 | 24 months | 100% | | 2018 | 54 | 37 months | 100% | | 2019 | 64 | 25 months | 100% | | 2020 | 51 | 26 months | 100% | | 2021 | 68 | 24 months | 100% | | 2022 | 36 | 33 months | 97% | | 2023 | 46 | 30 months | 100% | | 2024 | 66 | 22.5 months | 98% | | 2025 | 66 | 24 months | 100% | ## Almost Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea A total of 498 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 25 months. After a trial, it was 39 months, based on 2 people. A group of 2 is too small to compare with the plea group. Among the guilty pleas, 74% had a written plea agreement and 26% were straight pleas. Nationally, 97% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty. ## Sentences Below the Range Without a Government Request The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Of the 500 people, 40% (201) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 18% (91), and below it without a government request were 41% (205). Above the range were less than 1% (3). Nationally, 36% of national defense sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 58%. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 338 people (68%), with a median term of 36 months. Supervised release for life was given to 3 people (less than 1%). A fine was ordered for 8 people (2%), and restitution for 0\. In criminal history, 90% were in the lowest category and less than 1% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Yearly Counts and Limits Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 167 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 333\. The yearly counts range from 14 to 68 people. The yearly medians range from 22.5 months to 38.5 months, and the records do not show why they differ. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals, dismissals, or uncharged cases. It also does not describe the items or destinations involved in any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (500). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) (overview) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (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.