Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
These numbers compare groups of cases, not lawyers. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 94% of defendants with a federal public or community defender pleaded guilty, compared with 93% with a CJA panel attorney and 91% with private counsel. Defendants who can afford a lawyer, and the charges they face, dif
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In brief: These numbers compare groups of cases, not lawyers. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 94% of defendants with a federal public or community defender pleaded guilty, compared with 93% with a CJA panel attorney and 91% with private counsel. Defendants who can afford a lawyer, and the charges they face, differ from those who receive appointed counsel, so differences in outcomes cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
Read This Comparison With a Selection Effect in Mind
The groups below were not formed at random. Defendants who can afford a lawyer, and the charges they face, differ from those who receive appointed counsel. A difference in outcomes between the groups therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
A lower or higher acquittal rate for one group may reflect the cases that group brings, not the quality of its lawyers. The records here cannot separate those explanations.
Who Represented Federal Defendants
The Federal Judicial Center counted 753,808 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It records the type of counsel at the end of each case.
Appointed counsel, meaning a public defender or a CJA attorney, represented 602,589 defendants (80%). Retained counsel represented 120,641 (16%). Type of counsel was not reported for 15,109.
By group, 312,459 defendants had a federal public or community defender, and 290,130 had a CJA panel attorney. Another 15,342 represented themselves (pro se).
How Cases Ended in Each Group
Guilty pleas were the most common ending in every group of attorneys. With a federal public or community defender, 94% pleaded guilty, 5% were dismissed, and 95% were convicted. With a CJA panel attorney, 93% pleaded guilty, 4% were dismissed, and 95% were convicted.
With private counsel, 91% pleaded guilty, 6% were dismissed, and 94% were convicted. Dismissals were more common with private counsel than with appointed counsel.
Convictions combine guilty pleas and guilty verdicts at trial. They were close to each other across the lawyer groups, at 95%, 95%, and 94%. The differences are in how cases reached that point and in how many were dismissed.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| federal public or community defender (appointed) | 312,459 | 94% | 5% | 3,943 | 21% |
| CJA panel attorney (appointed) | 290,130 | 93% | 4% | 8,174 | 11% |
| private counsel (retained) | 120,641 | 91% | 6% | 4,526 | 17% |
| self-represented (pro se) | 15,342 | 40% | 59% | 199 | 19% |
| pro bono | 127 | 81% | 13% | 7 | 1 of 7 |
Trials and Acquittals
Trials were uncommon. They were 1% of cases for federal public or community defenders, 3% for CJA panel attorneys, and 4% for private counsel.
Among trials, 846 of 3,943 (21%) ended in an acquittal for federal public or community defenders. For CJA panel attorneys it was 876 of 8,174 (11%), and for private counsel 774 of 4,526 (17%).
The number of trials also differed by group: 3,943 for federal public or community defenders, 8,174 for CJA panel attorneys, and 4,526 for private counsel. A rate based on 3,943 trials and a rate based on 8,174 trials describe different groups of cases, and each is a share of trials only, not of all defendants.
The CJA group had the lowest acquittal rate among trials, and the public and community defender group had the highest. The records do not show what kinds of cases each group took to trial.
Self-Represented Defendants
Cases of self-represented defendants ended differently. Only 40% pleaded guilty, 59% had their cases dismissed, and 41% were convicted. Of 199 trials, 37 ended in an acquittal (19%).
The dismissal rate for this group does not show that representing oneself leads to dismissal. The records do not describe the charges in these cases.
Pro bono counsel appears in the table for 127 defendants. With only 7 trials, its acquittal figure is 1 of 7 and is too small to use.
Comparison With Courts-Martial
Every accused at a general or special court-martial is detailed a military defense counsel at no cost and may also hire a civilian lawyer. This differs from the federal system, in which a defendant either receives appointed counsel or hires a lawyer.
Court-martial records in this data do not show the type of counsel in a way that can be compared. For that reason, no military figures are given for this topic.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records show how cases ended and who the counsel was at the end of the case. They do not show whether a defendant changed lawyers during the case.
They also do not show the charges, the strength of the evidence, or the sentence. The figures describe groups of cases, and they should not be used to judge any lawyer or any type of lawyer.
How We Counted
Every defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (753,808), Federal Judicial Center, by type of counsel at the end of the case (TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
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.
More Detail
More on type of counsel: Appointed vs. Retained Counsel in Federal Criminal Cases, Year by Year, FY2016–2025 · Federal Defendants Who Represented Themselves: How Their Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 · Federal Trials by Type of Counsel: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal, FY2016–2025.
How cases ended under each federal statute: Federal Statutes: How Cases Ended.
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)
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
- Civilian Defense Counsel Versus Military Counsel: Can You Hire Your Own Lawyer (law firm reference page)
- 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.