Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
29 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Other" offense type in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 21 (72%) received probation only, and 5 (17%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 0.3 months.
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In brief: 29 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Other" offense type in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 21 (72%) received probation only, and 5 (17%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 0.3 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 29 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.
What the "Other" Category Contains
"Other" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's catch-all offense type for cases that do not fit its named categories. It is based on the primary guideline in each case, so it is not a single kind of crime.
The most common guideline here was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), for 23 people. Next was §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)) for 4. 1 person each was sentenced under §2A5.2 (Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant) and §2D1.12.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,942 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Probation Was the Usual Sentence
21 of the 29 people (72%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 5 (17%) received a prison term. For all 94 federal districts, 38% of the 9,918 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among the 5 sent to prison, the median was 0.3 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. For all districts the median was 0.2 months. For all offenses in this district it was 50 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Pleas
29 of the 29 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Because there were no trials, the data has no trial comparison. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
For all districts, guilty pleas were 98% of this offense type. For all offenses in this district, they were 98%.
Position Against the Guideline Range
18 people (62%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 9 (31%) were below the range without a government request, and 2 (7%) were below it at the government's request. None were above the range.
For all districts, 90% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 27 people with that information recorded.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Only 3 people (10%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 6 people (21%), and restitution for 1 (3%).
41% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, and 7% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
25 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 4 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Most of the group, then, was sentenced in the earlier years. Years from 2020 on each had 1 person, so their medians show n/a or a single case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 6 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0.2 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of the Data
Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Because this category mixes unrelated offenses, its averages and medians describe no single kind of case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Other" (29). 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 Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, 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.