Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
In the District of Colorado, 1,237 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 29% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as for drug trafficking in all 94 federal districts together. The yearly me
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Drug Trafficking: District of Colorado
In brief: In the District of Colorado, 1,237 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 29% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as for drug trafficking in all 94 federal districts together. The yearly medians were 78 months in fiscal years 2022, 2024, and 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,237 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.
Yearly Medians From 34.5 to 78 Months
The yearly table shows medians of 45 months in fiscal year 2016 and 34.5 months in 2017. They were 60 months in 2018 and 2019, and 78 months in 2022, 2024, and 2025. Yearly counts were between 93 and 161 people.
The records show these changes but not their causes. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September, and the all-years median of 60 months combines every year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 108 | 45 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 93 | 34.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 142 | 60 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 156 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 114 | 58 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 119 | 53.5 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 161 | 78 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 107 | 75 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 118 | 78 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 119 | 78 months | 98% |
Prison Terms Across the Whole Period
1,188 of the 1,237 people (96%) received a prison term, and 36 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. 2 people received a life sentence.
The share sent to prison is the same as in all districts, 96%. The median for all offenses in the District of Colorado was 36 months, which is lower than the drug trafficking median. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Median Terms After Trials and Guilty Pleas
1,200 of 1,237 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 37 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 60 months. After a trial it was 144 months, based on 37 people sent to prison.
These are different groups of cases, and the records do not show how much of the difference comes from the cases and how much from the choice of trial. Among guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum applied to 868 of the 1,237 people (70%). For 21% (262), the sentence was within the guideline range. It was below the range at the government's request for 52% (646) and below without a government request for 25% (315). 1% (14) were above the range.
Across all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it was 36%.
Guidelines, Supervision, and Criminal History
The most common primary guideline was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)), with 1,225 people. Others were §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) with 5, §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 2, and §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) with 1.
1,111 people (90%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 44 (4%) and restitution for 23 (2%). By criminal history, 44% were in the lowest category and 14% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Installations in the District
Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are in the District of Colorado and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these federal figures do not describe cases from those installations.
499 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 738 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,237). 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 District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Colorado, 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.