Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking made up 38% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the Western District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 527 people. A mandatory minimum applied to 361 of them (69%), and the median prison term was 78 months, compared with 60 months for all 94 districts. 65% were sentenced below
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In brief: Drug trafficking made up 38% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the Western District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 527 people. A mandatory minimum applied to 361 of them (69%), and the median prison term was 78 months, compared with 60 months for all 94 districts. 65% were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 527 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 Most of the Group
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 361 of the 527 people (69%). That is the first feature that separates this offense type in the district from the rest of its caseload.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 78 months (6.5 years). A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 54 months or less. For "Drug Trafficking" in all 94 districts, the median was 60 months, which is lower. For all offenses in this district, it was 59.5 months.
Prison and Probation
510 of the 527 people (97%) received a prison term, and 16 (3%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 96% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
The terms are those imposed by the court and do not measure time served. The records do not show how much of each term was actually served.
Few Sentences Fell Within the Guideline Range
The sentence's position against the guideline range is recorded for all 527 people. Sentences below the range without a government request were the largest group, at 340 people (65%). Sentences below the range at the government's request were given to 96 (18%), sentences within the range to 87 (17%), and sentences above the range to 4 (less than 1%).
The within-range share was 32% for all 94 districts in this offense type and 32% for all offenses in this district. Within the Western District of Wisconsin, drug trafficking sentences were within the range less often than that.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
520 of 527 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. The national share who pleaded guilty was 98%, and the district's share for all offenses was 97%.
The median prison term was 78 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 7 people. Nearly every guilty plea, more than 99%, included a written plea agreement.
Guidelines, Release Terms, and Criminal History
All 527 people were sentenced under one primary guideline, §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). The offense type is a category the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from that main guideline.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 506 people (96%), with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 17 people (3%) and restitution for 1 (less than 1%).
In criminal history, 19% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 34% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 204 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 323 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts run from 40 people in fiscal year 2024 to 67 in fiscal year 2019.
The yearly median ranges from 36 months in fiscal year 2016 to 87 months in fiscal year 2017. The table lists every year and is a reference, not evidence of a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 41 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 42 | 87 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 54 | 72 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 67 | 78 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 47 | 66 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 48 | 79.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 61 | 84 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 65 | 75 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 40 | 72 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 62 | 86 months | 97% |
What Is Not in the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. People whose cases ended in acquittal or dismissal are not in the Commission's data.
The records also omit the type and quantity of drug in each case, so they cannot explain why one person received a longer term than another.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (527). 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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, 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.