Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025
In the District of Hawaii, 51 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 51 pleaded guilty. 49 (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 63 months (5.2 years). For all 94 districts, the median was 90 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 › Robbery: District of Hawaii
In brief: In the District of Hawaii, 51 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 51 pleaded guilty. 49 (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 63 months (5.2 years). For all 94 districts, the median was 90 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 51 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.
Robbery Sentences Compared With All Districts
The median prison term for the 49 people sent to prison was 63 months (5.2 years). A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 46 months or less. 2 people (4%) received probation only.
For all 94 federal districts together, robbery had 14,845 people, 99% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 90 months. The median in this district was lower. For all offenses in the District of Hawaii, the median prison term was 53 months, which is lower than the robbery median here.
Offense Type and Guidelines
"Robbery" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. These cases were 4% of the 1,377 people sentenced in the district.
49 of the cases had §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline. 2 had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
No Trials, and Mixed Plea Agreements
51 of 51 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Nationwide, guilty pleas were 95% in robbery cases.
80% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
59% of sentences (30 people) were within the guideline range. 22% (11) were below the range at the government's request, and 18% (9) were below the range without a government request. 2% (1) were above the range.
The comparison figures are 40% for robbery in all 94 districts and 37% for all offenses in this district.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 51 people with that information recorded (10%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Restitution was ordered for 36 people (71%), the most common financial order. Only 1 person (2%) was fined. After prison, 49 people (96%) had a term of supervised release, and the median term was 36 months.
Criminal history placed 37% in the lowest category and 8% in the highest. There is no criminal history field in court-martial records, so no military comparison is possible.
Yearly Medians
The 10 fiscal years split into 20 people in 2016 to 2019 and 31 people in 2020 to 2025. In any one year the count ranges from 1 to 8 people.
The yearly medians range from 24 months to 84 months. Fiscal year 2024 had 1 person, so its median of 24 months is a single case. The table does not support a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 35 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 6 | 55.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 8 | 77.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2019 | 3 | 46 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 8 | 57 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2021 | 5 | 51 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 7 | 81 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 7 | 78 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 84 months | 3 of 3 |
Installations and Limits of the Records
Military installations in the site's court-martial data that are located in the district are Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and Wheeler Army Airfield. A court-martial takes place in a military court. The robbery cases in this post are federal cases.
A person who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed does not appear in this data. Each prison term is the sentence imposed, which can differ from the time actually served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Hawaii (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Hawaii") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (51). 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 Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Hawaii, 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.