Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
Of 26 people sentenced in the Middle District of Pennsylvania under the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type, 20 (77%) received probation only, and 4 (15%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 4 was 4.5 months. All 26 pleaded guilty.
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In brief: Of 26 people sentenced in the Middle District of Pennsylvania under the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type, 20 (77%) received probation only, and 4 (15%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 4 was 4.5 months. All 26 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 26 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.
Most Sentences Were Probation Only
The Commission's offense type "Other" is a catch-all category for cases that do not fit its named types. This district had 26 people in it, and the data for this group covers fiscal years 2016 to 2023. Of these, 20 (77%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 4 (15%) received a prison term.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 4.5 months. A quarter received 9.8 months or more, and a quarter received 2.3 months or less. With only 4 people in prison, these figures describe a very small group.
A Different Pattern From All 94 Districts
Across all 94 districts, 9,918 people were sentenced under this offense type. In that group, 38% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 0.2 months. The share sent to prison was lower in this district, at 15%.
Sentences within the guideline range were 90% across all districts and 81% here. For all offenses in the district, 47% were within the range and the median prison term was 46 months.
All 26 Pleaded Guilty
Every one of the 26 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were 98% across all districts. Among guilty pleas here, 88% had a written plea agreement and 12% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 25 people with that information recorded.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
All 26 people had a recorded guideline position. Of these, 21 (81%) were sentenced within the range. Another 5 (19%) were below the range without a government request. None were below the range at the government's request, and none were above it.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 18 people. Next was §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)), with 4 people. Then came §2D3.2 (Regulatory Offenses Involving Controlled Substances or Listed Chemicals), with 2 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 11 people (42%), and restitution for 11 (42%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2 (8%), with a median term of 12 months.
In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 21 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 5 people. The table lists only the years with cases, and most years show "n/a" for the median prison term because too few people received prison.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the facts of any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 12 | n/a | 100% |
| 2020 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Other" (26). 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.