Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025
Robbery was a small part of the District of Delaware's federal caseload: 23 people were sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to 2025, which is 2% of the district's 925 people. All 23 received prison, and the median prison term was 84 months (7 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025 › Robbery: District of Delaware
In brief: Robbery was a small part of the District of Delaware's federal caseload: 23 people were sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to 2025, which is 2% of the district's 925 people. All 23 received prison, and the median prison term was 84 months (7 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 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.
Prison Terms in 23 Robbery Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 23 people in the District of Delaware whose offense type was "Robbery" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data.
All 23 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 84 months, or 7 years. A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 65 months or less.
For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 27 months, so robbery cases carried longer terms.
Delaware and All Districts Side by Side
In all 94 districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery. 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. The Delaware median of 84 months is lower than that figure, and the share sent to prison is about the same.
Within the guideline range were 43% of Delaware sentences (10 people), compared with 40% for robbery in all districts. 35% (8 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 22% (5 people) were below it without a request. None were above the range.
The only primary guideline was §2B3.1 (Robbery), which applied to all 23 people.
Pleas and the One Trial
22 of the 23 people (96%) pleaded guilty. 1 person was convicted after a trial and received a prison term of 120 months. The median after a guilty plea was 84 months.
One trial is not enough to compare trial and plea sentences. The records cannot show whether that term reflects the choice of a trial or the facts of that case.
Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement. The guilty plea rate for all districts was 95%.
Mandatory Minimums and Other Orders
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 of the 23 people (30%).
All 23 were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 17 people (74%), and a fine for 1 (4%).
In criminal history, 26% were in the lowest category and 17% were in the highest.
Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 11 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 12. The table shows no more than 5 people in any year, and no robbery sentences appear for 2022. With counts this small, the yearly medians, which range from 60 months to 216 months, mostly reflect 1 to 5 sentences.
They are not evidence of a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 84 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2017 | 3 | 84 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 190 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 216 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 115 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 2 | 60 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 69 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 5 | 84 months | 5 of 5 |
Limits of These Records
Dover AFB, Delaware is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these federal numbers stand on their own.
The records do not show the facts of any robbery, whether a weapon was involved, or why a judge chose any sentence. They also leave out people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Delaware (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Delaware") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (23). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Delaware, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Delaware, 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.