Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Michigan, 78 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 78 received a prison term. The median prison term was 79 months (6.6 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. After a guilty plea the median was 78 months, and afte
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In brief: In the Western District of Michigan, 78 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 78 received a prison term. The median prison term was 79 months (6.6 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. After a guilty plea the median was 78 months, and after a trial it was 240 months, based on 5 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 78 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.
A Shorter Median Than the National Figure
All 78 people (100%) were sent to prison, and none received probation only. A quarter received 146.2 months or more, and a quarter received 48 months or less.
For all districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery, and 99% were sent to prison. The national median was 90 months, which is longer than the median here. The district's median for all offenses was 51 months, so robbery cases carried longer terms than the district's cases as a whole.
The terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.
One Guideline, §2B3.1
Robbery is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types, grouped by the main guideline used at sentencing. All 78 cases in this district used §2B3.1 (Robbery).
These cases were 3% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 73 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 68% had a written plea agreement and 32% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The trial median of 240 months rests on 5 people. That is too few to say how trial and plea sentences generally compare, and the records do not show how the cases differed.
Nationally, 95% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 20 of the 78 people (26%).
A sentence within the guideline range was given to 43 people (55%). 10 sentences (13%) were below the range at the government's request, and 21 (27%) were below it without a government request. 4 sentences (5%) were above the range.
Across all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. In this district, 54% of sentences for all offenses were.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 78 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 63 (81%), and a fine for 13 (17%).
By criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category, category I, and 23% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fewer Cases in Later Years
There were 38 people from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 40 from 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows 15 people in fiscal year 2016 and 1 in 2025.
Several years have fewer than 10 people, so their medians rest on a handful of cases. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 7 | 150 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2018 | 7 | 60 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 9 | 84 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2020 | 15 | 78 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 9 | 151 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2022 | 8 | 57.5 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2023 | 3 | 80 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 55 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 110 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (78). 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 Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, 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.