Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking was the largest offense type in the District of South Dakota: 1,316 people, or 26% of the 5,041 sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 1,299 of them (99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median for t
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Drug Trafficking: District of South Dakota
In brief: Drug trafficking was the largest offense type in the District of South Dakota: 1,316 people, or 26% of the 5,041 sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 1,299 of them (99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type was 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,316 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.
A Median Prison Term of 120 Months
Among people sent to prison for drug trafficking in this district, a quarter received 151 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence. These are the terms imposed, not the time served.
The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 36 months. For drug trafficking across all 94 districts, where 185,188 people were sentenced, it was 60 months. In this district, the drug trafficking median was higher than both.
Mandatory Minimums Were Recorded for Most of the Group
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,014 of the 1,316 people (77%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term that a statute sets as a floor.
Among those sent to prison, 1,291 (98%) were also ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. 1 person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 206 (16%), and restitution for 29 (2%).
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Within the advisory guideline range: 56% (738). Below the range at the government's request: 7% (95). Below the range without a government request: 35% (463). Above the range: 2% (20).
Within-range sentences were more common here than for this offense type across all districts, where the figure is 32%. They were about the same as for all offenses in the District of South Dakota, at 57%.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
1,248 of 1,316 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 68 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 188 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 68 people. The comparison shows how sentences differed between pleas and trials. It does not show whether going to trial changed the sentence.
How the Yearly Medians Moved
The yearly counts range from 83 to 184 people. The median prison term was 70 months in fiscal year 2016 and 60 months in fiscal year 2017. It was 120 months in each of fiscal years 2019 to 2023, then 121 months in fiscal year 2024 and 132 months in fiscal year 2025.
423 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 893 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The records do not show what drove the change in either the number of cases or the medians.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 83 | 70 months | 90% |
| 2017 | 99 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 96 | 90 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 145 | 120 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 147 | 120 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 143 | 120 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 184 | 120 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 137 | 120 months | 93% |
| 2024 | 166 | 121 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 116 | 132 months | 96% |
Guidelines and Criminal History
The primary guideline in 1,307 cases was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). Smaller counts used §2D1.2 (4), §2X3.1 (2), and §2D1.8 (1).
In criminal history, 30% were in the lowest category I and 12% in the highest VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure cannot be compared with military cases.
Limits and Context
The Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota installation is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these figures do not describe any military case.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,316). 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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Dakota, 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.