Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
Most of the 203 people sentenced in the Northern District of New York under the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type received probation only: 152 people (75%). Only 51 (25%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 38% of cases in this category ended in pr
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In brief: Most of the 203 people sentenced in the Northern District of New York under the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type received probation only: 152 people (75%). Only 51 (25%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 38% of cases in this category ended in prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 203 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.
Probation Was the Usual Sentence
Of the 203 people in this category, 152 (75%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The other 51 (25%) received a prison term.
For the same offense type in all 94 federal districts, 38% of people were sent to prison. The district rate was lower.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 31 months or more, and a quarter received 0.3 months or less. That wide spread means the median describes a mixed group of very short and much longer terms.
What the "Other" Offense Type Means
"Other" is a catch-all category used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It holds cases whose primary guideline does not fit the named offense types, such as drugs, firearms, or fraud.
The most common primary guideline was §2D1.11 (Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical), with 45 people. Next was §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)), with 7 people, and §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 1.
Because the category is a mix, its numbers do not describe one kind of conduct.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 201 of the 203 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. The trial figure of 0.2 months rests on 1 person sent to prison, so it cannot be compared with the plea figure.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 17% had a written plea agreement and 71% were straight pleas with no agreement. Straight pleas were the larger group in this category.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Information on the guideline range was recorded for 155 people. Of those, 71% (110) were sentenced within the range, 8% (12) below it at the government's request, and 21% (33) below it without a government request. No sentence was above the range.
Across all districts, 90% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the share was 53%.
A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 51 people sent to prison.
Fines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 151 people (74%), and restitution for 2 (less than 1%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 48 people (24%), with a median term of 36 months.
On criminal history, 82% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 91 people in this category, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 112. These cases were 5% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district.
The table shows that the median prison term is listed as n/a in 3 years, which means the data does not give a median for those years. Yearly counts are small, from 12 to 34 people.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 2.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 38 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 34 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 33 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 14 | n/a | 100% |
| 2021 | 19 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 20 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 23 | 0.2 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 20 | n/a | 100% |
| 2025 | 16 | n/a | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fort Drum, New York, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The records do not show the facts of individual cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Other" (203). 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 Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern 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.