Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking was 30% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,903 people. The median prison term was 26 months, compared with 60 months for this offense type across all 94 federal districts. Only 14% of sentences were within the guideline
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY201 › Drug Trafficking: Eastern District of New York
In brief: Drug trafficking was 30% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,903 people. The median prison term was 26 months, compared with 60 months for this offense type across all 94 federal districts. Only 14% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,903 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 Shorter Median Prison Term Than the National Figure
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 1,903 people in this district under the offense type "Drug Trafficking." A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. 1,740 of the 1,903 (91%) received a prison term, and 145 (8%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 26 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 66 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. The median across all 94 districts was 60 months, and 96% of people nationally were sent to prison. For all offenses in this district, the median was 27 months.
These are terms imposed, not time served. The comparison shows that the median here is lower than the all-district median. The records cannot show the reasons.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Only 14% of the 1,903 sentences (260 people) were within it. 43% (815 people) were below the range at the government's request, and another 43% (813 people) were below the range without a government request. 15 people (less than 1%) were above the range.
Across all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 24%.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 275 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 267 | 18 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 209 | 24 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 189 | 40.8 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 128 | 12 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 132 | 28.8 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 177 | 41.1 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 194 | 33 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 201 | 36.5 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 131 | 60 months | more than 99% |
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,062 of the 1,900 people with that information recorded (56%). A mandatory minimum is a statutory floor that sets the lowest sentence a court may impose in the situations the law covers.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
1,848 of the 1,903 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 55 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 78 months, based on 54 people sent to prison.
95% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement. Nationally, 98% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Which Drug Guidelines Applied
The offense type is the Commission's category. The primary guideline was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)) for 1,882 people. Smaller groups were sentenced under §2D1.5 (Continuing Criminal Enterprise), with 11 people, §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals), with 6 people, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), with 1 person.
The records do not show which drug or what quantity was involved.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
1,521 people (80%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months, and 2 people (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 73 people (4%), and restitution for 39 (2%).
In criminal history, 62% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 8% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Changes by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 940 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 963. The table shows the yearly medians, which range from 12 months in fiscal year 2020 to 60 months in fiscal year 2025. Fiscal year 2025 had 131 people.
The records cannot show whether the later medians reflect changes in the cases or in how they were charged. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissals and acquittals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,903). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, 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.