Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 678 of the 979 people (69%) sentenced for drug trafficking in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 110 months (9.2 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. Drug trafficking made u
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In brief: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 678 of the 979 people (69%) sentenced for drug trafficking in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 110 months (9.2 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. Drug trafficking made up 33% of the district's 3,011 sentenced cases.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 979 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 and Long Medians
The U.S. Sentencing Commission sorts cases into offense types by the main guideline used at sentencing. Drug trafficking is the largest group in this district, with 979 of the 3,011 people sentenced.
Of the 979 people, 944 (96%) received a prison term, and 32 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 151 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less.
The median of 110 months is longer than the national median of 60 months for this type. It is also longer than the 60-month median for all offenses in the district. These are imposed terms, and the records do not show time served.
Which Guideline Applied?
Almost every case, 978 of 979, used §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). The remaining case used §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment).
Because one guideline covers nearly all cases, the totals do not separate sentences by drug type or quantity. The records summarized here do not report either.
Trials Led to Longer Medians
Of the 979 people, 951 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 28 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 108 months. After a trial it was 222.5 months, based on 28 people.
More than 99% of the guilty pleas included a written plea agreement, and less than 1% were straight pleas. The records do not show how the trial and plea cases differed, so the gap cannot be explained from this data.
Many Sentences Were Below the Range
The guideline range was followed for 570 people (58%). Another 207 (21%) received a sentence below the range at the government's request, and 187 (19%) received one below it without a government request. 15 sentences (2%) were above the range.
Nationally, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. In this district, 67% of sentences for all offenses were.
After Prison and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 934 people (95%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 25 (3%), and restitution for 8 (less than 1%).
By criminal history, 29% were in the lowest category, category I, and 22% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Nearby Installations
From fiscal year 2016 to 2019 the district sentenced 324 people in this type, and from 2020 to 2025 it sentenced 655. In the yearly table, medians reach 120 months in several years, from 2018 on in most of them.
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these figures do not describe them.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data, which covers only people who were convicted and sentenced.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 79 | 70 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 101 | 70 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 60 | 120 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 84 | 120 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 81 | 87 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 79 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 126 | 113.5 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 132 | 120 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 91 | 120 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 146 | 120 months | 95% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (979). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.