Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking was 29% of the 7,061 people sentenced in the District of Utah in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 2,072 people. Of those, 1,947 (94%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 48 months (4 years). The median for drug trafficking in all 94 federal districts was 60 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 › Drug Trafficking: District of Utah
In brief: Drug trafficking was 29% of the 7,061 people sentenced in the District of Utah in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 2,072 people. Of those, 1,947 (94%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 48 months (4 years). The median for drug trafficking in all 94 federal districts was 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,072 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.
The Largest Offense Type in the District
Drug trafficking is the Commission's category for drug manufacturing, importing, exporting, and trafficking cases. In the district, it covers 2,072 people, which is 29% of everyone sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Nearly all of them were sentenced under one guideline: §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)), used for 2,042 people. One person was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), and 1 under §2D1.5 (Continuing Criminal Enterprise).
For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 30 months. For drug trafficking it was 48 months.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
Of the 2,072 people, 1,947 (94%) were sent to prison, and 121 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison.
A quarter of those sent to prison received 72 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. The district's median of 48 months is lower than the all-district median of 60 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,000 of the 2,070 people with that information recorded (48%).
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range at the Government's Request
Below-range sentences at the government's request were given to 70% of the people (1,446). Sentences within the range were 13% (273), and sentences below the range without a request were 15% (315). Sentences above the range were 1% (26).
In all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the share was 24%.
The records show the position against the range but do not show the reasons for the government's requests.
Guilty Pleas and the 16 Trials
Of the 2,072 people, 2,056 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 16 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, guilty pleas were 98%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 48 months. After a trial it was 180 months, based on the 16 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Nearly every guilty plea (more than 99%) had a written plea agreement. The records cannot show whether trial cases differed from plea cases in ways other than the verdict.
Yearly Counts Rose After Fiscal Year 2019
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 585 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 1,487 people. The table lists each year. The highest count is 281 people in fiscal year 2022.
The yearly median prison term ranges from 44.5 months in fiscal year 2022 to 60 months in fiscal years 2016 and 2018. Median terms were 53.5 months in fiscal year 2025.
Fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 105 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 138 | 57 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 165 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 177 | 51 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 187 | 52 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 244 | 51 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 281 | 44.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 276 | 48 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 232 | 46 months | more than 99% |
| 2025 | 267 | 53.5 months | more than 99% |
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 1,903 people (92%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 8 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 28 (1%).
In criminal history, 41% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 22% were in the highest (Category VI).
Installations and Limits of the Data
Hill AFB, Utah, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in the federal district court, and these numbers describe federal court only.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the records do not give the drug involved or the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Utah (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Utah") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (2,072). 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 Utah, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Utah, 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.