How Much Time Will I Serve for Assault?

Assault and battery are violent crimes that can carry significant penalties for a conviction. Assault can occur whenever there is the threat of violence. Battery means that there was physical contact.

Typically, assault and battery are state crimes, but federal prosecutors will sometimes pursue assault charges in certain circumstances. It is a federal case when the alleged assault occurs on federal territory such as in a national park, for example. Criminal defendants accused of assaulting a federal officer will also be charged in federal court.

There are several factors that determine sentencing for a defendant found guilty of assault. One factor is the injury caused to the victim. Even if the defendant did not intend to cause serious harm, if the assault results in severe injuries the sentence can increase. A criminal record, particularly if it involved a previous violent offense, can also lead to more prison time. Assault with a weapon leads to a more lengthy sentence, as does assault with intent to commit a felony.

Federal Assault Charges

There are several federal laws that assign penalties for assault. The crime charged is perhaps the most relevant factor in sentencing. For example, a defendant charged with assault with intent to commit murder can get up to 20 years in prison. If a defendant is charged with resisting arrest by a federal officer, they face less than a year. That is only for simple assault, however, where no injury happens. If a suspect lands a punch that injures an officer or uses a weapon, the potential sentence increases dramatically. The data in this article involves many different kinds of assault. Some may involve resisting arrest, which can be added to any existing charges.

Click on the image below to see notable charts and statistics regarding sentencing for federal assault charges.

Key Takeaways

In looking at federal data and sentencing for assault, there are a few broad takeaways:

• Younger men are much more likely to be sentenced in federal court for assault.
• Black and Hispanic defendants received the most “prison only” sentences by racial group.
• Most defendants sentenced had a high school diploma or less.
• A large percentage of defendants had a previous criminal record, which can have a large affect on sentence length, particularly if the previous conviction involved a violent crime.
• Most defendants were sentenced to 24 months or less. However, a significant portion (41.4%) received more than two years of prison time.

About the Sentencing Data for Assault

This article looks at sentencing data for assault. All data was obtained by the United States Sentencing Commission, which tracks and reports sentencing in federal courts across the country. The USSC is an independent, bipartisan agency that is under the federal judiciary. While it reports to Congress, the USSC does not endorse or oppose any particular political view on criminal sentencing, but it does seek to help Congress and the judiciary maintain consistency across federal courts.

Assault Sentences by State

There are fewer assaults charged in federal court than state court. For that reason, many states have only a handful (or less) of people sentenced to federal prison for assault. Below are the number of sentences given by state for 2019. If a state or territory is not listed, it means there were no sentences given.

Note: These numbers only include federal court. State courts prosecute and sentence many more defendants for assault and battery.

State	Sentences Given
Alabama	11
Arizona	146
Arkansas	3
California	31
Colorado	8
Connecticut	3
DC	2
Florida	11
Georgia	6
Hawaii	2
Idaho	8
Illinois	11
Indiana	4
Iowa	3
Kansas	6
Kentucky	15
Louisiana	13
Maryland	14
Massachusetts	8
Michigan	32
Minnesota	4
Mississippi	10
Missouri	8
Montana	24
Nebraska	13
Nevada	9
New Hampshire	1
New Jersey	1
New Mexico	39
New York	58
North Carolina	13
North Dakota	29
Ohio	5
Oklahoma	21
Oregon	10
Pennsylvania	6
South Carolina	16
South Dakota	40
Tennessee	20
Texas	70
USVI	1
Utah	4
Virginia	16
Washington	19
West Virginia	2
Wisconsin	3
Wyoming	6

Below are average sentences by state. Due to the low number of sentences in some jurisdictions, any broad takeaways from the data by jurisdiction should be limited. However, taken together we can see that many federal courts issue fairly lengthy sentences for assault. The sentence lengths are in months.

Jurisdiction	Sentence (In Months)
Alabama	15.6
Alaska	29.6
Arizona	6.0
Arkansas	24.2
California	24.7
Colorado	23.1
Connecticut	24.4
Washington, D.C.	13.3
Delaware	32.2
Florida	31.5
Georgia	26.4
Guam	1.6
Hawaii	28.6
Idaho	23.4
Illinois	23.6
Indiana	20.9
Iowa	17.4
Kansas	11.1
Kentucky	14.6
Louisiana	15.3
Maine	9.2
Maryland	28.8
Massachusetts	20.1
Michigan	25.3
Minnesota	32.3
Mississippi	17.7
Missouri	15.4
Montana	10.1
Northern Mariana Islands	0.2
Nebraska	13.6
Nevada	23.4
New Hampshire	11.8
New Jersey	0
New Mexico	20.7
New York	19.0
North Carolina	24.3
North Dakota	12.7
Ohio	19.5
Oklahoma	16.5
Oregon	25.6
Pennsylvania	19.5
Puerto Rico	11.8
Rhode Island	26.4
South Carolina	16.7
South Dakota	20.1
Tennessee	17.2
Texas	25.0
U.S. Virgin Islands	5.8
Utah	19.3
Vermont	17.0
Virginia	21.9
Washington	11.9
West Virginia	17.3
Wisconsin	21.1
Wyoming	21.9

Type of Sentences Given for Assault

A conviction or guilty plea for a violent crime will usually lead to a prison sentence. Federal and state governments view violent criminals as a danger to society. Laws therefore often see incarceration as a fitting punishment that helps to improve public safety. A prison sentence is not guaranteed, however, even in federal court.

Below you can see the types of sentences given to defendants who pleaded guilty or were found guilty at trial for assault. As expected, judges sentenced most to prison time. However, a fair number were able to get probation. Probation could be an option for defendants with no previous criminal history and who caused no significant harm to the victim.

Type of Sentence	Percent of Total
Fine	0.8%
Prison +	6.4%
Prison	74.7%
Probation +	0.7%
Probation	10.2%
Both	7.1%

Plea vs. Trial

As is usually the case in federal court, nearly all criminal defendants pleaded guilty rather than go to trial. Federal prosecutors are known for their ability to get plea bargains, and with a violent crime like assault, federal prosecutors can have leverage to negotiate.

Went to Trial?	Percent of Total
Plea	93.4%
Trial	6.3%
Combination	0.3%

In looking at the comparison in sentence length between defendants who pleaded and defendants who went to trial, it is apparent why many chose to plea. Defendants found guilty at trial received an average sentence of more than twice as long as those who pleaded guilty or no contest.

Sentencing Guidelines

Federal courts use sentencing guidelines to help determine a defendant’s sentence. While not mandatory, a sentence within the recommended guideline range is presumed to be appropriate on appeal.

While most defendants received a sentence within the guidelines range, sentence departures largely were below recommended guideline ranges.

Sentencing Guidelines Range	Percent
Within	50.6%
Exceeded	6.0%
Below	43.4%

For sentences that exceeded or went below recommended guidelines, the average departure was significant. Judges who exceeded recommended guidelines gave an average of an additional 35 months, while judges who went below lowered the sentence by 33 months.

A Prior Criminal Record

Very few criminal defendants had a clean record when being sentenced for assault. According to the USSC, 86% of all defendants sentenced had a criminal record.

No Criminal History	17.4%
Yes, There Is Criminal History	69.2

This could be relevant to sentencing, as federal law has adopted a “three strikes rule,” which dramatically increases sentence length if a criminal defendant has two prior serious violent crimes or one serious violent crime and one serious drug crime. Depending on the circumstances of the case, an assault can be considered a serious violent crime.

Even if the federal three strikes law is not in effect, a prior conviction or guilty plea can lead to significant sentence enhancements, as seen below, where defendants with a criminal history received three times the average sentences as those without.

Education Level of Assault Defendants

Most defendants sentenced in federal court for assault either have some high school completed or graduated from high school. Fewer had some college completed, and only 2% have a college degree. Does having an education reduce violent crime? Tackling that question is beyond the scope of this article. There has been research on this topic, however, with some findings indicating that a higher level of education may reduce the chances of committing a crime.

Age is another that may also be at play here. As discussed below, younger people are much more likely to be sentenced for assault than older population groups. It is possible that some of the defendants were enrolled in college at the time they were charged with assault.

Education Level	Percent
College Graduate	1.9%
H.S. Graduate	34.8%
Less Than H.S. Graduate	36.1%
Not on List	11.6%
Some College	15.5%

Sentences For Assault by Race

It is important in examining sentences by race to note the limited sample size of the data. As previously noted, state prosecutors are usually responsible for bringing assault charges against a criminal defendant. Because of this it’s difficult to draw any sure conclusions from federal data alone.

According to the 2019 data, the longest average sentence was for an unknown/uncategorized but Non-Hispanic race. However, there were only two sentences in total given for that category, so the data is likely skewed. Below, the race/ethnicity of a defendant is given, along with whether the defendant self-identifies as Hispanic. For purposes of the USSC data, Hispanic is not a race, but ethnicity. All categories are taken directly from the USSC, which uses Hispanic instead of Latino.

Race/Ethnicity	Hispanic?	Sentence Length (Months)
American Indian/Alaskan Native	Hispanic	35
American Indian/Alaskan Native	Non-Hispanic	35.8
American Indian/Alaskan Native	Unknown	42.2
Asian or Pacific Islander	Non-Hispanic	28.8
Black/African American	Hispanic	84.4
Black/African American	Non-Hispanic	89.3
Black/African American	Unknown	64.9
No Info	Hispanic	120
No Info	Non-Hispanic	181.5
No Info	Unknown	4.4
Other	Non-Hispanic	30
White/Caucasian	Hispanic	92.4
White/Caucasian	Non-Hispanic	65.1
White/Caucasian	Unknown	73.2

Particularly interesting is the type of sentence given. As you can see below, most offenders received a prison sentence regardless of race. Yet there are some differences by race.

Reported Race	Type of Sentence	Total Sentences Given
American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic	Prison + Confinement	1
American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic	Prison Only	13
American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic	Probation Only	2
American Indian/Alaskan Native Unknown	Prison Only	9
American Indian/Alaskan Native Unknown	Prison + Confinement	34
American Indian/Alaskan Native Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	226
American Indian/Alaskan Native Non-Hispanic	Probation + Confinement	1
American Indian/Alaskan Native Non-Hispanic	Probation Only	33
Asian or Pacific Islander Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	3
Asian or Pacific Islander Non-Hispanic	Probation Only	2
Black/African American Hispanic	Prison + Confinement	1
Black/African American Hispanic	Prison Only	11
Black/African American Unknown	Prison + Confinement	1
Black/African American Unknown	Prison Only	5
Black/African American Unknown	Probation Only	1
Black/African American Non-Hispanic	Fine Only	1
Black/African American Non-Hispanic	Prison + Confinement	1
Black/African American Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	169
Black/African American Non-Hispanic	Probation + Confinement Conditions	1
Black/African American Non-Hispanic	Probation Only	12
Not Available Hispanic	Prison Only	1
Not Available	Fine Only	4
Not Available Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	6
Other Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	2
Other Non-Hispanic	Probation Only	1
White/Caucasian Hispanic	Fine Only	1
White/Caucasian Hispanic	Prison + Confinement	11
White/Caucasian Hispanic	Prison Only	94
White/Caucasian Hispanic	Probation + Confinement Conditions	2
White/Caucasian Hispanic	Probation Only	10
White/Caucasian Unknown	Prison Only	9
White/Caucasian Unknown	Probation Only	1
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	Fine Only	1
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	Prison + Confinement	5
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	Prison Only	82
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	Probation + Confinement Conditions	2
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	Probation Only	25

Prison Sentences Given by Race

In looking at the percentage of sentences issued for prison only, we can see that Black/African American defendants received the most prison-only sentences for assault, followed closely by white defendants identifying as Hispanic.

American Indian/Alaskan Native	70%
Asian or Pacific Islander	60%
Black/African American	83%
Other	66%
White/Caucasian Hispanic	79%
White/Caucasian Non-Hispanic	71%

Total Sentences by Age and Gender

According to USSC data, younger men are much more likely to be sentenced for assault than women and older population groups regardless of gender. Men aged 21-40 are vastly overrepresented in the 2019 sentencing statistic.