Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
1,830 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is 37% of all 4,942 people sentenced in the district. The median prison term was 71 months, and the table shows it rising from 60 months in 2016 to 108 months in 2025.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY201 › Drug Trafficking: Eastern District of Arkansas
In brief: 1,830 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is 37% of all 4,942 people sentenced in the district. The median prison term was 71 months, and the table shows it rising from 60 months in 2016 to 108 months in 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,830 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.
Drug Trafficking Was the Largest Part of This District's Caseload
Drug trafficking is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases, and it is based on the primary guideline in each case. In this district, 1,825 of the 1,830 people were sentenced under §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). 1 person each was sentenced under §2D1.8, §2D1.2, and §2X3.1.
The data counts people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
Prison Terms and Probation
1,651 of the 1,830 people (90%) received a prison term, and 163 (9%) received probation only. For all 94 federal districts, 96% of the 185,188 people sentenced for drug trafficking were sent to prison.
The median prison term here was 71 months (5.9 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 41 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. For all districts the median was 60 months, and for all offenses in this district it was 50 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Medians by Fiscal Year
The median prison term was 60 months in 2016 and 2017, and 63 months in 2018. It was 72 months in 2019, and from 2020 to 2022 it was 70, 70, and 74 months. It was 84 months in 2023, 98 months in 2024, and 108 months in 2025.
The records show these numbers but cannot show why the median moved. Fiscal years run from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 194 | 60 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 226 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 164 | 63 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 180 | 72 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 148 | 70 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 162 | 70 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 191 | 74 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 225 | 84 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 180 | 98 months | more than 99% |
| 2025 | 160 | 108 months | 98% |
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,079 of the 1,830 people (59%). The mandatory minimum is a statutory floor that a judge generally cannot go below.
810 people (44%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 359 (20%) were below the range at the government's request, 619 (34%) were below it without a government request, and 41 (2%) were above it. For all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the share was 55%.
Pleas and Trials
1,800 of the 1,830 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 30 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 70 months. After a trial it was 180 months, based on 30 people.
95% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 5% had none. The records cannot show why the medians differ, because the records do not describe the facts of each case.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
1,643 people (90%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 24 people (1%), and restitution for 21 (1%).
30% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, and 28% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Period and a Note on Installations
764 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 1,066 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The second period covers more years, so the totals for the periods are not directly comparable.
Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and the federal cases above are not tied to the base.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,830). 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 Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, 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.