Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
120 people were sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 120 received a prison term, with a median of 120 months (10 years). The median for robbery in all 94 districts was 90 months.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY20 › Robbery: Eastern District of Tennessee
In brief: 120 people were sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 120 received a prison term, with a median of 120 months (10 years). The median for robbery in all 94 districts was 90 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 120 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 for Every Robbery Sentence
The Commission's "Robbery" offense type was 2% of the 6,452 people sentenced in this district. 120 of 120 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter received 155.2 months or more, and a quarter received 70.8 months or less. The all-districts median was 90 months, which is lower. The median for all offenses in the district was 70 months, which is also lower.
Guilty Pleas and Trial
117 of 120 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 200 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people, so it is a very small group, and the records do not show why it is higher.
For all districts in this category, 95% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, 98% did. Among guilty pleas, 83% had a written plea agreement and 17% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums
58 of the 120 people (48%) were subject to a mandatory minimum prison term, meaning a minimum set by statute.
Against the Guideline Range
For robbery, 72 sentences (60%) were within the guideline range, which is the range the federal Sentencing Guidelines produce for each case. 30 (25%) were below it at the government's request. 7 (6%) were below it without a request, and 11 (9%) were above it.
Across all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range, and across all offenses in this district, 48%. The share here is higher than both.
Guidelines and Criminal History
The most common primary guideline was §2B3.1 (Robbery), with 118 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 2.
In criminal history terms, 18% were in category I, the lowest, and 32% were in category VI, the highest.
Supervised Release and Restitution
119 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 71 (59%). No fines were ordered (0, or 0%).
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 62 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 58. Yearly counts run from 6 to 18 people. The median was 124 months in fiscal year 2016 and 130 months in fiscal year 2017. The median was 120 months or close to it in several years, and the lowest yearly medians were 79 months and 79.5 months. The records do not show what caused the changes, and none of these small groups shows a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 124 months | 88% |
| 2017 | 13 | 130 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 14 | 79 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 18 | 113.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 6 | 117 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 8 | 123.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 18 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 13 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 7 | 120 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 6 | 79.5 months | 6 of 6 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Nothing in this data covers acquittals or dismissals. It also does not report time served, and it gives no facts about any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (120). 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 Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Tennessee, 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.