Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025
Of the 300 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 170 (57%) received probation only and 127 (42%) received a prison term. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.8 months. The number sentenced each year fell from 86 in fis
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2 › Drug Possession: Western District of Texas
In brief: Of the 300 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 170 (57%) received probation only and 127 (42%) received a prison term. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.8 months. The number sentenced each year fell from 86 in fiscal year 2016 to 6 in fiscal year 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 300 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.
Probation Was the More Common Sentence
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Drug Possession" covers these cases. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 170 of the 300 people (57%). A prison term was the sentence for 127 (42%).
In all 94 districts, 5,909 people were sentenced for drug possession, and 68% were sent to prison. The share sent to prison in this district was lower. The Commission's data calls the district "Texas West".
Very Short Prison Terms
The median prison term among the 127 people sent to prison was 0.8 months. A quarter received 2.9 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. A prison term here is the term imposed, not time served.
In all 94 districts, the median prison term for drug possession was 6 months. Across every offense type in this district, it was 10 months. The drug possession median was lower than both.
A Group That Became Much Smaller
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 237 people were sentenced for drug possession in this district. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 63 people were sentenced. The yearly table shows 86 people in fiscal year 2016 and 5 or 6 people in each of fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Because the later yearly counts are so small, the medians for those years rest on a handful of people. The records show the drop in numbers but cannot show its cause.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 86 | 0.8 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 68 | 1.3 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 48 | 0.6 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 35 | 0.1 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 17 | 1.1 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 months | 90% |
| 2022 | 19 | 2.4 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 5 | 2 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 6 | 0.2 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 6 | 6 months | 6 of 6 |
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
296 of 300 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. After a guilty plea the median prison term was 0.7 months, and after a trial it was 2.4 months. The trial figure covers 1 person sent to prison.
Of the guilty pleas, 64% had a written plea agreement and 28% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Other Conditions
Of 291 people with the information, 97% (283) were sentenced within the guideline range. 2% (6) were below the range without a government request, and less than 1% (2) were above it. No one was below the range at the government's request. In all 94 districts, 90% were within the range.
The most common primary guideline was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), with 228 people. A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 275 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).
Supervised release was ordered for 43 people (14%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 108 (36%), and restitution for 0 (0%). 74% were in the lowest criminal history category.
What Is Not Counted
Drug possession cases were less than 1% of the 76,480 people sentenced in the district over these 10 fiscal years. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the Commission's data.
Military installations in the district appear in this site's court-martial data. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal numbers do not describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (300). 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)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.