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# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-vermont/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:06.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:06.000Z
- Description: Drug trafficking made up 54% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 878 people. 97% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 25 months. For drug trafficking in all 94 districts, the median was 60 months.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) › Drug Trafficking: District of Vermont

**In brief:** Drug trafficking made up 54% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 878 people. 97% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 25 months. For drug trafficking in all 94 districts, the median was 60 months.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 878 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## The Largest Offense Type in the District

The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns each sentenced person to an offense type. "Drug Trafficking" was the type for 878 of the 1,619 people sentenced in this district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 18 months and 99% pleaded guilty.

The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.

## Prison Terms

849 of the 878 people (97%) received a prison term, and 29 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 25 months, or 2.1 years. A quarter received 50 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.

For this offense type in all 94 districts, the Commission counts 185,188 people. 96% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 60 months. The Vermont median was lower than the national median. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range

Only 11% of sentences (93 people) were within the guideline range. 55% (481) were below the range at the government's request, and 34% (297) were below the range without a government request. Less than 1% (7) were above the range.

For drug trafficking in all districts, 32% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 21%. The share within the range here was lower than both.

## Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums

§2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)) was the primary guideline for 870 people. §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) applied to 5, and §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) to 1.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 169 of the 878 people (19%). A mandatory minimum is a sentence floor set by statute. 33% of the group were in criminal history category I, and 19% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Pleas and Trials

872 of 878 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. More than 99% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 135 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 6 people, so it describes a small group.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

836 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 19 people (2%), and restitution for 11 (1%).

## Counts and Medians by Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 424 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 454\. A fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30\. Yearly counts range from 59 to 127 people, and yearly medians range from 13 months in 2020 to 36 months in 2022\. The records do not show why the medians differ from year to year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 127              | 18 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 106              | 30 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2018        | 92               | 30 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 99               | 33 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 86               | 13 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 74               | 24 months     | 99%            |
| 2022        | 63               | 36 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 59               | 24.4 months   | 98%            |
| 2024        | 68               | 18 months     | 99%            |
| 2025        | 104              | 29.5 months   | 98%            |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data does not show the drug type or amount, the facts of any case, or the charges dropped in plea agreements. It cannot say how the same cases would have been sentenced elsewhere.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (878). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.