§2D1.5 Continuing Criminal Enterprise: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
Of the 14 people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2D1.5, "Continuing Criminal Enterprise; Attempt or Conspiracy," 12 (86%) received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request, and only 1 (7%) was within the range. All 14 went to prison, with a median of 180 months
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2D1.5 Continuing Criminal Enterprise › §2D1.5: FY2024
In brief: Of the 14 people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under guideline §2D1.5, "Continuing Criminal Enterprise; Attempt or Conspiracy," 12 (86%) received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request, and only 1 (7%) was within the range. All 14 went to prison, with a median of 180 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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.
Below the Range at the Government's Request
12 of the 14 sentences (86%) were below the guideline range at the government's request. 1 sentence (7%) was within the range, and 1 (7%) was below the range without a government request. None were above the range.
For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 22% of sentences were within the range. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024, the figure was 46%.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 of the 14 people with that information recorded (100%).
Prison Terms for the 14 People
14 of the 14 people (100%) received a prison term, with a median of 180 months, which is 15 years. A quarter received 225.5 months or more, and a quarter received 144 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.
The median for all years under this guideline is 240 months, so fiscal year 2024 is lower. Fiscal year 2024 has the largest group in the yearly table, at 14 people.
Pleas and Trials
12 of the 14 people (86%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 165.5 months. After a trial, it was 415 months, based on 2 people.
All of those who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement. The all-years plea rate under this guideline is 78%, so the plea rate in fiscal year 2024 was higher.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
12 people (86%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (7%), and no restitution was ordered.
64% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 7% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How Fiscal Year 2024 Compares With Other Years
The table shows medians from 67.2 months to 360 months across the 10 years. Fiscal year 2023, with 7 people, had a median of 360 months, and fiscal year 2025, with 9 people, had a median of 300 months.
For every guideline in fiscal year 2024, 61,678 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 30 months. The Commission files the §2D1.5 cases under the offense type Drug Trafficking. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 204 months | 75% |
| 2017 | 3 | 67.2 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2018 | 7 | 252 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2019 | 2 | 136.6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 6 | 270 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 4 | 210 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 8 | 279.5 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2023 | 7 | 360 months | 3 of 7 |
| 2024 | 14 | 180 months | 86% |
| 2025 | 9 | 300 months | 7 of 9 |
Limits of the Records
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers appear in this post.
These records cover only people who were convicted and sentenced. They do not say what led to a sentence below the range, and one year with 14 people does not show a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.5 (14), 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)
- §2D1.5 Continuing Criminal Enterprise: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- 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.