Judicial circuitsFY2018–FY2025
Fifth Circuit
5th Cir. · 9 districts · Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
The datafile contains cases reported to the Commission with sentencing documents. Sentence length statistics use the Commission's capped variable (sentences of 470 months or longer, including life, are recorded as 470 months) and exclude sentences of probation or a fine only. Figures are aggregates of past cases and are not a prediction for any case.
§ 1Districts compared
| District | Cases | Prison | Median months | Within range | Below, gov. | Below, other | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern District of Louisiana E.D. La. | 2,255 | 82% | 60 | 57% | 18% | 22% | 4% |
| Middle District of Louisiana M.D. La. | 955 | 89% | 37 | 54% | 20% | 24% | 2% |
| Western District of Louisiana W.D. La. | 2,486 | 88% | 60 | 68% | 11% | 16% | 5% |
| Northern District of Mississippi N.D. Miss. | 1,246 | 87% | 37 | 44% | 26% | 27% | 4% |
| Southern District of Mississippi S.D. Miss. | 2,842 | 93% | 46 | 68% | 12% | 16% | 4% |
| Eastern District of Texas E.D. Tex. | 6,376 | 94% | 67 | 63% | 21% | 11% | 6% |
| Northern District of Texas N.D. Tex. | 11,787 | 96% | 60 | 62% | 14% | 17% | 7% |
| Southern District of Texas S.D. Tex. | 57,909 | 97% | 12 | 57% | 19% | 22% | 2% |
| Western District of Texas W.D. Tex. | 63,640 | 92% | 10 | 78% | 6% | 10% | 6% |
Whole period, FY2018–FY2025. Medians are of cases with a prison term.
§ 2Summary
The Fifth Circuit covers 9 districts (Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas). Its courts sentenced 149,496 cases reported to the Commission across 8 fiscal years (FY2018–FY2025), 21,717 of them in FY2025; the Western District of Texas is the busiest with 63,640.
The circuit's median prison term was 14 months (1 yr 2 mo), shorter than the national 24 months, and 67% of sentences were within the guideline range (nationally 47%).
FY2025 had more cases than FY2018 (21,717 against 17,658). The median prison term in FY2025 (10 months) was shorter than in FY2018 (16 months).
§ 3Length of prison terms
§ 4Position relative to the guideline range
Within guideline range 67%Above range 4%Below range, government sponsored 13%Below range, other 16%Not determinable 713
| Measure | 5th Cir. | All districts |
|---|---|---|
| Median prison months | 14 | 24 |
| Cases with a prison term | 94% | 92% |
| Within guideline range | 67% | 47% |
| Above range | 4% | 3% |
| Below range, government sponsored | 13% | 29% |
| Below range, other | 16% | 21% |
§ 5Offence mix
| Primary offence type | Cases | Share | Median months | Within range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | 95,467 | 63.9% | 8 | 73% |
| Drug Trafficking | 26,154 | 17.5% | 70 | 51% |
| Firearms | 9,176 | 6.1% | 40 | 68% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 5,889 | 3.9% | 18 | 59% |
| Other | 1,893 | 1.3% | 0 | 83% |
| Robbery | 1,402 | 0.9% | 102 | 57% |
| Money Launder | 1,349 | 0.9% | 36 | 43% |
| Child Pornography | 1,296 | 0.9% | 115 | 54% |
| Sex Abuse | 1,096 | 0.7% | 220 | 63% |
| Administration of Justice | 1,055 | 0.7% | 13 | 60% |
| National Defense | 901 | 0.6% | 18 | 47% |
| Prison Offenses | 599 | 0.4% | 12 | 75% |
§ 6Trend by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Cases | Prison | Median months | Within range | Below, gov. | Below, other | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 17,658 | 92% | 16 | 70% | 11% | 16% | 3% |
| FY2019 | 21,369 | 93% | 12 | 70% | 12% | 16% | 3% |
| FY2020 | 20,229 | 94% | 8 | 69% | 13% | 17% | 2% |
| FY2021 | 16,403 | 94% | 18 | 60% | 17% | 21% | 3% |
| FY2022 | 16,837 | 95% | 18 | 61% | 17% | 19% | 3% |
| FY2023 | 17,542 | 96% | 18 | 64% | 15% | 16% | 5% |
| FY2024 | 17,741 | 93% | 16 | 68% | 12% | 15% | 6% |
| FY2025 | 21,717 | 95% | 10 | 72% | 9% | 11% | 8% |
§ 7Questions and answers
Which districts are in the Fifth Circuit?
Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas and Western District of Texas.
How do sentences vary across the Fifth Circuit?
District medians over FY2018–FY2025 range from 10 to 67 months. Offence mix explains much of it: the district pages break each one down by offence type.
How often are sentences within the guideline range in the Fifth Circuit?
67% over FY2018–FY2025, with 13% below the range on a government motion and 16% below it for other reasons.
§ 8Provenance
Source: United States Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles, fiscal years 2018–2025 (US government works), aggregated by this site; the FY2025 file is dated 29 Apr 2026. Circuit is the Commission's MONCIRC code 5. Counts below 10 are hidden or pooled. Errors in this site's processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections. Methodology.