Drug Distribution Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
Only 16 court-martial convictions for drug distribution have trial dates in 2025, and their median adjudged confinement was 5.4 months. Federal courts sentenced 14,572 people for drug trafficking without an import statute in fiscal year 2025, and the median prison term among those sent to prison was
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In brief: Only 16 court-martial convictions for drug distribution have trial dates in 2025, and their median adjudged confinement was 5.4 months. Federal courts sentenced 14,572 people for drug trafficking without an import statute in fiscal year 2025, and the median prison term among those sent to prison was 77 months, the highest in the federal yearly table. With so few military cases, the 2025 court-martial figures can shift with a handful of sentences.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14,572 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025, 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.
The 16 Court-Martial Convictions of 2025
The Army and the Marine Corps had 6 convictions each, and the Air Force and the Navy had 2 each. Each conviction is for Article 112a wrongful distribution with a trial date in calendar 2025. A count of 16 is very small, and it should not be read as a trend.
Of the 16 convictions with a sentence recorded, 12 (75%) included confinement. The median adjudged confinement was 5.4 months. A quarter received 18 months or more.
A general court-martial heard 8 of the 16 convictions (50%). That is the highest level of military trial court, where the most serious sentences are available.
Discharges for Enlisted Members
The records list 15 enlisted members convicted. Of those, 12 (80%) received a punitive discharge. There were 5 dishonorable discharges and 7 bad-conduct discharges. A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge a court-martial can impose on an enlisted member.
Pleas and Contested Cases
Every 2025 conviction has a plea recorded, and 13 of the 16 (81%) were guilty pleas. After a guilty plea, the median confinement was 5.4 months, based on 10 cases with confinement.
Contested cases ending in conviction had a median of 35 months, based on 2 cases with confinement. A median drawn from 2 sentences says little about contested cases in general.
In federal court, 14,251 of 14,572 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 321 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 74 months. After a trial it was 190 months, based on 317 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A written plea agreement was part of 92% of the federal guilty pleas; 8% were straight pleas.
| Courts-martial, 2025 | Federal court, FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 16 | 14,572 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 75% | 97% |
| Median confinement or prison | 5.4 months | 77 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 18 months | 123 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 13 of 16 with a plea recorded (81%) | 98% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 8,730 of 14,571 with the information (60%) |
Federal Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2025
Fiscal year 2025 ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. The federal group is everyone sentenced under guideline §2D1.1 with no import statute, mostly under 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846. It counts people sentenced, not convictions.
A prison term was imposed on 14,070 of the 14,572 (97%), and 441 (3%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 77 months (6.4 years). A quarter received 123 months or more, and a quarter received 40 months or less. There were 10 life sentences.
The yearly table shows the median prison term at 77 months in fiscal year 2025, compared with 60 months in fiscal year 2016. The records do not show why the median changed over that period. These are terms imposed, and court-martial terms are as adjudged before clemency or appeal; neither measures time served.
| 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% |
Guidelines, Minimums, and Supervision
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8,730 people (60%).
For the 14,566 people with guideline information, 40% (5,873) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Sentences within the range were 30% (4,400). Below-range sentences without a government request were 27% (4,002), and 2% (291) were above the range. The guideline range is the range the federal sentencing guidelines produce for each person.
Supervised release followed prison for 13,879 (95%), with a median of 48 months, and 15 (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. Fines were ordered for 883 (6%) and restitution for 291 (2%). In criminal history, 41% were in category I and 15% were in category VI. Court-martial records do not have a criminal history field.
Context From All Years
For 2016 to 2025 together, the court-martial records hold 408 convictions with a median confinement of 4.9 months. Federal courts sentenced 160,460 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 65 months.
Where the Records Stop
Neither set of records shows the drugs, the quantities, or the reasoning behind a sentence. They cannot show whether a 2025 court-martial case would have been prosecuted federally, or what a federal judge would have imposed.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2025 ending in a conviction for drug distribution (Article 112a wrongful distribution; federal drug trafficking without an import statute) (16). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2025 under primary guideline §2D1.1 without an import statute (mostly 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846) (14,572), 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 2024: 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.