Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
The median prison term for the 341 people sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 97 months (8.1 years), among the 332 who received prison. A mandatory minimum applied to 67% of them. Across all 94 federal districts, the median for robbery was 90 m
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY20 › Robbery: Eastern District of Wisconsin
In brief: The median prison term for the 341 people sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 97 months (8.1 years), among the 332 who received prison. A mandatory minimum applied to 67% of them. Across all 94 federal districts, the median for robbery was 90 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 341 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.
Mandatory Minimums in Robbery Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 230 of the 341 people with that information recorded (67%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.
That share is a feature of this offense type in this district. The sheet does not say which statutes produced the minimums, and it cannot show how a minimum changed any individual sentence.
Prison Terms From Shortest to Longest
Of the 341 people, 332 (97%) received a prison term, and 9 (3%) received probation only. In all districts together, 99% of people sentenced for robbery went to prison.
The median prison term was 97 months. A quarter received 128.5 months or more, and a quarter received 66 months or less. Prison terms here are the terms imposed, not time served.
The median for all offenses in this district was 48 months, so robbery had a higher median than the district's cases overall.
Guilty Pleas and the 10 Trials
A total of 331 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. Every plea in the data had a written plea agreement: 100%, with 0% straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 96 months. After a trial it was 211 months. The trial figure rests on 10 people, so it is a small group. The records do not show whether the facts of those cases, the charges, or the trial itself account for the longer terms.
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 8% (27 people). Sentences below the range at the government's request were 41% (141), and those below the range without a government request were 48% (164). Sentences above the range were 3% (9).
For robbery in all districts together, 40% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 17%.
What the Commission Counts as Robbery
"Robbery" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2B3.1 (Robbery), used for 336 people. Another 4 were sentenced mainly under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), and 1 under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
Robbery cases were 12% of the 2,907 people sentenced in this district. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
Supervision, Restitution, and Criminal History
After prison, 331 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered (0), and restitution was ordered for 265 people (78%).
In the federal data, 25% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 12% in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years run from October 1 to the end of September. The district sentenced 180 people for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 161 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
The yearly counts range from small to moderate, and the medians move around within that range. The table lists them without explaining any change.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 43 | 106 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 55 | 84 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 48 | 120 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 34 | 104 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 32 | 108 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 19 | 90 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 27 | 90 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 36 | 94 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 20 | 104.5 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 27 | 74 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (341). 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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 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.