Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 320 of the 5,462 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial, and 94% pleaded guilty, lower than the 97% guilty plea rate for all federal districts. Straight pleas, entered without a written plea agreement, made up 18% of guilty
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 320 of the 5,462 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial, and 94% pleaded guilty, lower than the 97% guilty plea rate for all federal districts. Straight pleas, entered without a written plea agreement, made up 18% of guilty pleas. The median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years), compared with 24 months nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 5,462 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.
More Trials and More Straight Pleas
Guilty pleas accounted for 5,142 of the 5,462 people sentenced (94%). The other 320 were found guilty at trial. The national guilty plea rate was 97%, so a larger share of this district's convictions came from trials.
Most guilty pleas in the district came with a written plea agreement: 82%. The other 18% were straight pleas, meaning the person pleaded guilty without any agreement with the prosecutor.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 40 months. For the 311 people convicted at trial and sent to prison, the median was 120 months. Trial and plea cases are different groups of people and offenses, so this comparison does not isolate any effect of the trial itself.
Offense Types Sentenced in the District
Drug trafficking cases made up 1,512 of the total (28%). Fraud, theft, or embezzlement made up 1,096 (20%), and firearms 691 (13%). Immigration accounted for 524 (10%) and robbery for 474 (9%). Child pornography (images of child exploitation) accounted for 184 (3%).
Robbery had a median prison term of 108 months and drug trafficking 60 months. Child pornography cases had a median of 120 months. Sexual abuse, with 183 people, had the longest median in the table at 240 months. Fraud, theft, or embezzlement had a median of 18 months, and tax cases 12 months.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 1,512 | 28% | 60 months | 96% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 1,096 | 20% | 18 months | 95% |
| Firearms | 691 | 13% | 46 months | 93% |
| Immigration | 524 | 10% | 12 months | more than 99% |
| Robbery | 474 | 9% | 108 months | 92% |
| Child Pornography | 184 | 3% | 120 months | 98% |
| Tax | 183 | 3% | 12 months | 92% |
| Sexual Abuse | 183 | 3% | 240 months | 89% |
Prison Terms and Mandatory Minimums
A prison term was imposed on 4,839 people (89%), lower than the 91% rate for all districts. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 443 (8%).
Among people sent to prison, the median was 42 months. A quarter received 96 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less. There were 18 life sentences.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2,150 people (39%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute that the judge generally cannot go below.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution to victims was ordered for 2,029 people (37%). Fines were ordered for 971 people (18%).
Supervised release after prison was part of the sentence for 4,584 people (84%), with a median term of 36 months. Lifetime supervised release was ordered for 78 people (1%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
The Commission had guideline information for 5,445 people. Within-range sentences numbered 1,827 (34%). Sentences below the range at the government's request numbered 2,215 (41%), and those below the range without a government request numbered 1,291 (24%). Above-range sentences numbered 112 (2%).
For all districts, 48% of sentences fell within the range, higher than the share here. The records show only where a sentence fell, not the reasons behind it.
On criminal history, 50% of people sentenced in the district were in category I, the lowest, and 11% were in category VI, the highest.
Year-by-Year Medians
The district sentenced 2,528 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,934 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows the median prison term each year. It was 36 months in 2017 and 2020, 60 months in 2023, and 52 months in 2025. The records cannot show why the yearly medians moved.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 585 | 37 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 676 | 36 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 640 | 40 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 627 | 37 months | 93% |
| 2020 | 493 | 36 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 446 | 42 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 501 | 48 months | 94% |
| 2023 | 529 | 60 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 488 | 48 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 477 | 52 months | 96% |
What This Data Does Not Cover
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in the Sentencing Commission data. Acquittals and dismissed cases are absent, so the figures say nothing about how often prosecutions in this district failed. Prison terms reflect what the judge imposed, not the time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (5,462). 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)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.