Drug Distribution Sentences in 2022: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
Every one of the 53 court-martial drug distribution convictions tried in 2022 with a sentence recorded included confinement (100%), and the median adjudged confinement was 5.9 months. In fiscal year 2022, federal courts sentenced 17,228 people for drug trafficking without an import statute; 96% rece
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In brief: Every one of the 53 court-martial drug distribution convictions tried in 2022 with a sentence recorded included confinement (100%), and the median adjudged confinement was 5.9 months. In fiscal year 2022, federal courts sentenced 17,228 people for drug trafficking without an import statute; 96% received prison, and the median prison term was 70 months. The federal median of 70 months was higher than in any earlier fiscal year in the table.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17,228 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Confinement in Every 2022 Court-Martial Sentence
All 53 convictions with a sentence recorded included confinement. The median adjudged confinement was 5.9 months. A quarter of the sentences were 11 months or more.
Military sentences in this data are recorded as adjudged at trial. They do not account for clemency, appeals, or early release.
Contested Cases and Guilty Pleas
The records list a plea for all 53 convictions, and 46 (87%) were guilty pleas.
In 2022, contested cases that ended in conviction had a higher median confinement than guilty pleas: 8.7 months compared with 5.3 months. The contested figure is based on 7 cases, and the guilty plea figure on 46. A group of 7 is too small to say much about.
Federal courts reported 16,844 guilty pleas out of 17,228 (98%) and 384 convictions after trial. The median prison term was 70 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial, based on 378 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 92% involved a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Federal Prison Terms for Fiscal Year 2022
Prison was imposed on 16,623 of the 17,228 people sentenced (96%). Another 502 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median term was 70 months (5.8 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less. The records show 9 life sentences.
These are the terms judges imposed. They are not a count of time actually served.
The yearly table shows the median at 70 months in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, after 65 months in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The records cannot show what caused the change.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 16,908 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 16,970 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 16,042 | 63 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 17,249 | 63 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 13,990 | 65 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 14,733 | 65 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 17,228 | 70 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 16,727 | 70 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 16,041 | 70.7 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 14,572 | 77 months | 98% |
Discharges, Court Level, and Services
All 53 people convicted were enlisted members. Of those, 42 (79%) received a punitive discharge: 6 dishonorable discharges and 36 bad-conduct discharges.
A general court-martial, the most serious level of military trial court, heard 20 of the 53 convictions (38%).
By service, the Army had 17 convictions, the Air Force 15, the Marine Corps 13, and the Navy 8. A total of 53 in 1 year is a small group, and the figures are not a trend.
| Courts-martial, 2022 | Federal court, FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 53 | 17,228 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 100% | 96% |
| Median confinement or prison | 5.9 months | 70 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 11 months | 120 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 46 of 53 with a plea recorded (87%) | 98% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 11,970 of 17,221 with the information (70%) |
Mandatory Minimums and Guideline Position
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11,970 people (70%).
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. Of 17,219 people with guideline information, 41% (7,030) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. Within-range sentences were 30% (5,085). Below-range sentences without a government request were 28% (4,812), and above-range sentences were 2% (292).
Supervised release was ordered for 16,414 (95%), with a median term of 48 months, including 10 (less than 1%) for life. Fines were ordered for 1,091 (6%) and restitution for 266 (2%). Criminal history category I covered 37% and category VI covered 16%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How Each Side Was Counted
The court-martial count is convictions for Article 112a wrongful distribution with a trial date in calendar 2022. The federal count is people sentenced under guideline §2D1.1 without an import statute, mostly under 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846, in fiscal year 2022. That fiscal year ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
Across the whole data set, there are 408 court-martial convictions with trial dates from 2016 to 2025, with a median confinement of 4.9 months, and 160,460 people sentenced federally in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 65 months.
What the Data Does Not Cover
The records do not describe drug quantities, the role each person played, or the reasons for any sentence. They cannot show how a court-martial case would have been charged or sentenced in federal court.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2022 ending in a conviction for drug distribution (Article 112a wrongful distribution; federal drug trafficking without an import statute) (53). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2022 under primary guideline §2D1.1 without an import statute (mostly 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846) (17,228), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Drug Distribution Sentences in 2021: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Drug Distribution Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Drug Distribution: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
- Drug Distribution: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
- Drug Distribution: Courts-Martial at Fort Bliss vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Texas
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Army Drug Conviction? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 112a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Drug Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Drug (court-martial data)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis (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.