Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 645 of the 1,038 people (62%) sentenced for drug trafficking in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 60 months, the same as in all 94 districts. Only 397 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY20 › Drug Trafficking: Northern District of New York
In brief: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 645 of the 1,038 people (62%) sentenced for drug trafficking in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 60 months, the same as in all 94 districts. Only 397 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,038 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.
Prison Terms and the Role of Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum is a sentence floor set by statute. It applied to 645 of the 1,038 people (62%) in this district.
A prison term went to 1,005 people (97%), and 27 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 95 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison, and the median was 60 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 24 months. In this district, 3 people received a life sentence.
Below the Guideline Range More Often Than Within It
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines produce a range for each case. Of the 1,038 sentences, 397 (38%) were within it, compared with 32% for all 94 districts.
Below the range at the government's request were 368 (35%), and below the range without a government request were 261 (25%). Above the range were 12 (1%).
For all offenses in this district, 53% of sentences were within the range.
Trial Sentences
Of the 1,038 people, 1,002 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 36 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 57 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial.
These are different groups of cases, and the figures do not show what a trial does to a sentence. Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Yearly Table
Counts per fiscal year go from 60 to 138 people. The yearly medians go from 39.5 months to 72 months.
The district sentenced 427 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 611 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The records show the numbers but not the reasons for the changes.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 109 | 48 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 97 | 51 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 120 | 41 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 101 | 56 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 96 | 46 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 60 | 39.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 138 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 133 | 68 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 102 | 72 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 82 | 70 months | 98% |
Guidelines and Criminal History
"Drug Trafficking" is the Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. For 1,030 people it was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)).
Smaller groups were sentenced under §2D1.5 (Continuing Criminal Enterprise), 3 people; §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment), 3 people; and §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals), 1 person.
In criminal history, 43% were in the lowest category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI.
Supervised Release and Financial Orders
Supervised release was ordered for 1,003 people (97%), with a median term of 48 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 67 people (6%) and restitution for 2 (less than 1%). Drug trafficking cases were 28% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district.
Limits and Military Courts
Fort Drum, New York, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The federal numbers on this page are reported on their own.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show the type or quantity of drug, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,038). 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 Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern 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.