§2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 328 people were sentenced in federal court with §2D1.2 as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 70 months. After a guilty plea it was 67 months, and after a trial it was 168 months, though only 9 people were convicted at trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or I › §2D1.2: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 328 people were sentenced in federal court with §2D1.2 as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 70 months. After a guilty plea it was 67 months, and after a trial it was 168 months, though only 9 people were convicted at trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 328 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
Plea Cases and Trial Cases Compared
The median prison term after a guilty plea in fiscal year 2016 was 67 months. For the 9 people convicted after a trial and sent to prison, the median was 168 months.
The trial group is small. A median based on 9 people can move a great deal if a few sentences change, so it describes those 9 cases and should not be read as a general rule.
Of the 328 people, 319 (97%) pleaded guilty. Among those who pleaded guilty, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% pleaded with no agreement.
What the Guideline Covers
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2D1.2 "Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals; Attempt or Conspiracy". The Sentencing Commission classifies all 328 cases in this year as Drug Trafficking.
A case counts here when §2D1.2 was the primary guideline, meaning the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The Commission's data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted.
The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal year 2016 ran from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Prison, Probation, and Supervised Release
A prison term was imposed on 324 of the 328 people (99%). 2 people (less than 1%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 46 months or less. The median of 70 months equals 5.8 years. These are the terms imposed, not the time actually served.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 323 people (98%), with a median term of 96 months. A fine was ordered for 12 people (4%), and restitution for 2 (less than 1%).
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 301 of the 327 people with that information recorded (92%).
For where the sentence fell against the guideline range, the Commission had the information for all 328. A sentence within the range was imposed for 66% (217). A sentence below the range at the government's request was imposed for 18% (60), and below the range without a government request for 15% (48). Fewer than 1% (3) were above the range.
For comparison, 59% of the people in these cases were in the lowest criminal history category I and 5% were in the highest, VI.
Fiscal Year 2016 in Context
Across all fiscal years from 2016 to 2025, §2D1.2 covered 2,553 people. Of those, 99% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 72 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. Sentences were within the guideline range for 53%.
All federal cases in fiscal year 2016, under every guideline, totaled 67,742 people. Their median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 49% were sentenced within the guideline range.
The next year, fiscal year 2017, had 287 people under §2D1.2, a median prison term of 70 months, and 56% sentenced within the range. The table shows every year from 2016 to 2025.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 328 | 70 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 287 | 70 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 218 | 70 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 281 | 70 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 297 | 66.5 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 252 | 75.4 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 208 | 70.2 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 276 | 84 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 229 | 78 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 177 | 72 months | 100% |
What These Numbers Cannot Show
There is no close court-martial counterpart to this guideline in the crosswalk used for this site, so the post reports federal numbers on their own.
The records do not show why a sentence was below the range, why one case went to trial, or what the facts of any case were. They also have no field for criminal history in court-martial records, so that figure cannot be compared between federal court and courts-martial.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.2 (328), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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)
- §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.