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# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:40.000Z
- Description: In the Southern District of Texas, 9,093 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years), and a mandatory minimum applied to 83% of those with that information recorded. After a trial, the median prison term was 130.5 months.
- 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 Southern District of Texas, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) › Drug Trafficking: Southern District of Texas

**In brief:** In the Southern District of Texas, 9,093 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years), and a mandatory minimum applied to 83% of those with that information recorded. After a trial, the median prison term was 130.5 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 9,093 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/).

## How Often a Mandatory Minimum Applied

A mandatory minimum is a prison term that the law sets as a floor for a given offense. In drug trafficking cases in this district, one applied to 7,556 of the 9,084 people with that information recorded (83%).

The data records whether a minimum applied. It does not record which drug or quantity was involved in each case.

## The Length of Prison Terms

Of the 9,093 people, 9,012 (more than 99%) received a prison term, and 58 (less than 1%) received probation only. 4 people received a life sentence.

The median prison term was 57 months. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. Across all 94 federal districts, the median for drug trafficking was 60 months, and 96% were sent to prison. The median for all offenses in the Southern District of Texas was 13 months.

The prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1,170            | 46 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 1,004            | 57 months     | 99%            |
| 2018        | 1,044            | 57 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 952              | 51 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 629              | 60 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2021        | 953              | 60 months     | 99%            |
| 2022        | 982              | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 894              | 60 months     | 99%            |
| 2024        | 842              | 57 months     | 99%            |
| 2025        | 623              | 60 months     | 99%            |

## Plea Versus Trial

Most people pleaded guilty: 8,971 (99%). A total of 122 were convicted after a trial.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 57 months. After a trial, it was 130.5 months, based on 120 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. These are separate groups of cases, and the records do not show how the cases in each group differed. Among the guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 22% were straight pleas.

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Within the range were 42% of sentences (3,807). Below the range at the government's request were 29% (2,657), and below the range without a government request were 28% (2,586). Above the range were less than 1% (42).

Nationally, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 58%.

## Share of the District's Caseload and Guidelines Used

Drug trafficking made up 13% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district in these years. The offense type is the Commission's category, not a single statute.

Nearly all cases used §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)), with 9,065 people. Smaller groups used §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) with 5, §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) with 4, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 4.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 8,071 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 140 (2%) and restitution for 15 (less than 1%).

In criminal history, 66% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Over the Years and What Is Missing

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 4,170 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 4,923\. The yearly table shows the median prison term was 60 months in most fiscal years from 2020 on. The records cannot show why yearly counts differ.

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are not in the data.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (9,093). 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 Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-texas/) (overview)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-southern-district-of-texas/) (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.