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# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:16.000Z
- Description: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 506 of the 872 people with that information recorded (58%) among the 874 people sentenced for drug trafficking in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 77.5 months (6.5 years), compared with 60 months acro
- 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-indiana/) › Drug Trafficking: Northern District of Indiana

**In brief:** A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 506 of the 872 people with that information recorded (58%) among the 874 people sentenced for drug trafficking in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 77.5 months (6.5 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. 22 people were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 266 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 874 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/).

## Mandatory Minimums Applied in 58% of Cases

The Commission's "Drug Trafficking" offense type had 874 people in the Northern District of Indiana. They were 28% of all 3,085 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 325 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 549 people.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 506 of the 872 people with that information (58%). A mandatory minimum sets a floor on the sentence that the court must follow unless an exception applies. The records do not show which exceptions were used.

## Prison Terms

Of the 874 people, 838 (96%) received a prison term, and 22 (3%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 2 people received a life sentence. The share sent to prison was the same as the 96% for all 94 districts.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 77.5 months. A quarter received 134.2 months or more, and a quarter received 37 months or less. The national median was 60 months, so the district's median was higher. For all offenses in the district, the median was 51 months.

## Trials and Guilty Pleas

A total of 852 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 22 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 98% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term was 72 months after a guilty plea and 266 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 22 people. The records do not show how the cases differed in charges or facts, so the gap cannot be read as the effect of a trial alone.

## The Main Guideline

Most cases, 861, were sentenced under §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). Smaller groups were sentenced under §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals), with 7 people, and §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment), with 3 people.

## Below-Range Sentences Were Common

Sentences within the guideline range were 38% (335 people). Below the range at the government's request were 36% (313 people), and below the range without a request were 24% (210 people). Above the range were 2% (16 people).

In all 94 districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, the figure was 47%.

## Yearly Medians in the Table

The yearly median prison term was 60 months in fiscal year 2016 and 108 months in fiscal year 2025\. The highest yearly median was 120 months, in fiscal year 2023\. Yearly counts ran from 60 people to 111 people.

These figures describe what the records show. They cannot show why yearly medians changed, and they do not separate drug types, which are not part of this sheet.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 60               | 60 months     | 95%            |
| 2017        | 72               | 60 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 106              | 66.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 87               | 60 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 111              | 72 months     | 95%            |
| 2021        | 106              | 75 months     | 96%            |
| 2022        | 94               | 101.5 months  | 99%            |
| 2023        | 85               | 120 months    | 99%            |
| 2024        | 71               | 100 months    | 97%            |
| 2025        | 82               | 108 months    | 96%            |

## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release followed prison for 806 people (92%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 10 (1%).

In criminal history, 32% were in the lowest category, category I, and 17% were in the highest, category VI. The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (874). 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-indiana/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (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.