Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of North Carolina, 42% of the 1,116 people sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had a mandatory minimum prison term apply. The median prison term was 78 months, compared with 60 months for drug trafficking in all 94 districts. The 13 people convicted aft
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In brief: In the Middle District of North Carolina, 42% of the 1,116 people sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had a mandatory minimum prison term apply. The median prison term was 78 months, compared with 60 months for drug trafficking in all 94 districts. The 13 people convicted after a trial had a median of 248 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,116 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.
Mandatory Minimums Applied to 42% of Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 473 of the 1,116 people (42%). A mandatory minimum is a sentence floor set by statute.
Of those 1,116 people, 1,038 (93%) were sentenced to prison and 60 (5%) received probation only. Drug trafficking cases were 29% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district.
Prison Terms by Fiscal Year
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 48 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 96% of drug trafficking cases ended in prison, and the median was 60 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months.
The yearly medians in the table ranged from 60 months to 108 months. Each year had between 81 and 135 people, so a single year's median reflects a fairly large group, and the records do not explain the changes.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 123 | 70 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 126 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 110 | 60 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 135 | 84 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 110 | 67.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 109 | 72.5 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 129 | 84 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 104 | 108 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 81 | 84 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 89 | 100.5 months | 100% |
Trials Were Rare
Of the 1,116 people, 1,103 (99%) pleaded guilty and 13 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 77 months, and after a trial it was 248 months.
The trial group is small, and cases that go to trial may differ from cases that end in a plea. The comparison describes groups of cases and does not show what a trial changes.
Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. In this district, 457 sentences (41%) were within the range.
Below the range at the government's request were 303 (27%), and below the range without a government request were 318 (28%). Above the range were 38 (3%).
For all 94 districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range, so the share within the range here was higher.
Guidelines Used
The offense type "Drug Trafficking" is the Sentencing Commission's category. The primary guideline in 1,111 cases was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). The primary guideline in 5 cases was §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment).
Criminal history was mixed: 32% were in the lowest, category I, and 14% were in the highest, VI.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release was ordered for 1,038 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 53 people (5%), and restitution for 43 (4%).
Limits of the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The records also do not show the type or quantity of drug in each case, so the prison terms cannot be compared by drug.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,116). 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 Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, 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.