Federal Food and Drug Offense Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025
Of the 11 people sentenced in the District of Utah for food and drug offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (73%) received probation only and 3 (27%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 3 people was 36 months (3 years), higher than the 17.3 months for this offense type in all
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 › Food and Drug Offense: District of Utah
In brief: Of the 11 people sentenced in the District of Utah for food and drug offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (73%) received probation only and 3 (27%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 3 people was 36 months (3 years), higher than the 17.3 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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.
Probation Only for 8 of 11 People
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 11 people under the offense type "Food and Drug" in the District of Utah. 8 (73%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 32% of the 451 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Prison was therefore a little less common in Utah than in the national group, but the Utah group has only 11 people. A difference of 1 or 2 people would change the percentage a good deal.
Prison Terms for the 3 Who Received Them
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 18.5 months or less. The median for all offenses in the District of Utah was 30 months.
With 3 people in the group, these figures describe very few cases. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 30.5 months. After a trial, it was 36 months, based on 1 person.
These terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 3 | 36 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
Sentences Mostly Within the Range
Of the 10 people with guideline information, 80% (8) were sentenced within the range, and 20% (2) were below the range without a government request. No one was sentenced below the range at the government's request or above the range.
Within-range sentences were more common here than the 68% for this offense type in all districts, and much more common than the 24% for all offenses in the District of Utah.
Guidelines and Offense Mix
The offense type is the Commission's category. The most common primary guideline was §2N2.1 (Violations of Statutes and Regulations Dealing With Any Food, Drug, Biological Product, Device, Cosmetic, or Agricultural Product), with 5 people. The next was §2N1.1 (Tampering or Attempting to Tamper Involving Risk of Death or Bodily Injury), with 2 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 7,061 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
10 of 11 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The rate was 98% in all districts and 99% for all offenses in the District of Utah. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
The Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show acquittals or dismissals.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 5 people (45%), and restitution for 1 (9%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (27%), with a median term of 24 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 11 people with that information recorded. All 9 people with criminal history information were in the lowest category, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Timing and Limits
Only 1 person was sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 10 were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table has no more than 3 people in any year, and several years show n/a for the median because no median is available for that year. It does not show a trend.
Hill AFB, Utah, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and this post reports federal numbers on their own. The records do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Utah (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Utah") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Food and Drug" (11). 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.
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 District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Utah, 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.