§2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
Fiscal year 2018 had 218 people sentenced under §2D1.2, the fewest of any year from 2016 through 2019 in the yearly table. The median prison term was 70 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. Of the 6 people convicted at trial, the median prison term was 246 months.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or I › §2D1.2: FY2018
In brief: Fiscal year 2018 had 218 people sentenced under §2D1.2, the fewest of any year from 2016 through 2019 in the yearly table. The median prison term was 70 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. Of the 6 people convicted at trial, the median prison term was 246 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 218 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
How Many People Were Sentenced, and to What
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 218 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 whose primary guideline was §2D1.2. A prison term went to 216 of them (more than 99%), and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 70 months, which is 5.8 years. A quarter of those sent to prison received 114 months or more. Another quarter received 36.8 months or less.
These are sentences imposed. They are not the time people actually served.
A Small Trial Group
There were 212 guilty pleas (97%) and 6 convictions after trial. The median prison term was 68 months after a guilty plea and 246 months after a trial.
The trial figure rests on 6 people. A group that small is a poor basis for a general statement about trials under this guideline. The records show the numbers but not the facts that produced each sentence.
Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas.
Mandatory Minimums and Range Positions
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 204 of the 218 people with that information recorded (94%).
Sentences were within the guideline range for 59% (129). Below the range at the government's request were 21% (46), and below the range without such a request were 16% (34). Above the range were 4% (9).
The year before had 56% within the range, and the year after had 52%. Across 2016 to 2025 the figure for this guideline was 53%. For all federal cases in fiscal year 2018, it was 51%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 217 people (more than 99%), with a median term of 72 months. A fine was ordered for 9 people (4%), and restitution for 4 (2%).
In criminal history, 41% were in category I, the lowest, and 12% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.
The Guideline and the Year
The Guidelines Manual calls §2D1.2 "Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals; Attempt or Conspiracy". Every one of the 218 cases falls in the Commission's Drug Trafficking offense type.
Fiscal year 2018 began on October 1, 2017 and ended on September 30, 2018. For comparison, all federal sentencings that year totaled 69,425 people, with a median prison term of 24 months and 97% guilty pleas.
For §2D1.2 over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the total was 2,553 people, 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 72 months. The table lists each year.
| 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 the Numbers Leave Out
The Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed do not appear.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. This post therefore reports federal numbers on their own and makes no military comparison.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.2 (218), 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)
- §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (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.