Federal Other Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
Of the 16 people sentenced in the District of New Jersey in the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025, 11 (69%) received probation only. 4 (25%) received a prison term, with a median of 12.1 months.
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In brief: Of the 16 people sentenced in the District of New Jersey in the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025, 11 (69%) received probation only. 4 (25%) received a prison term, with a median of 12.1 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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 Catch-All Category With Mostly Probation
"Other" is the Commission's category for cases that do not fit its named offense types. It is a mixed group, so the numbers describe no single kind of crime. In the District of New Jersey, 16 people were sentenced in this category, which is less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district.
11 of the 16 (69%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 4 (25%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 38% of the 9,918 people in this category were sent to prison.
Prison Terms Among the 4 Sentenced to Prison
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 12.1 months. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. With only 4 people, the median and the 25% cutoffs are not stable figures.
The all-districts median for this category was 0.2 months. The median for all offenses in the district was 37 months.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 0.1 months. After a trial it was 24 months, based on 1 person.
Pleas
14 of 16 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The all-districts rate was 98%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 97%.
Among the guilty pleas, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Were Usually Within the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. For 13 people with this information recorded, 85% (11) of sentences were within the range. One (8%) was below the range at the government's request and 1 (8%) was below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
That share within the range is higher than the 37% for all offenses in the district. It is also lower than the 90% for all districts in this category. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 12 people with that information recorded.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 3 people. §2A5.2 (Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant) applied to 2, and so did §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)). §2D3.1 (Regulatory Offenses Involving Registration Numbers) applied to 1.
In criminal history terms, 73% were in category I, the lowest, and 0% were in category VI, the highest.
Supervision, Fines, and Restitution
3 people (19%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (31%), and restitution for 2 (13%).
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 11. Each year in the table has 1 to 3 people, and many years have no median. The table cannot show a trend.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are 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 court.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 24 months | 1 of 3 |
| 2017 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | 30 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0.1 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
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 "Other" (16). 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.