§2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 21 people were sentenced under §2D1.8, and the median prison term was 24 months, higher than the 16.2 months for all years combined. Of the 21, 15 (71%) received prison, and all 21 (100%) pleaded guilty. 8 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2018, 21 people were sentenced under §2D1.8, and the median prison term was 24 months, higher than the 16.2 months for all years combined. Of the 21, 15 (71%) received prison, and all 21 (100%) pleaded guilty. 8 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 21 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.
A Median of 24 Months
The median prison term for the 15 people sent to prison in fiscal year 2018 was 24 months, or 2 years. A quarter received 44 months or more, and a quarter received 6.1 months or less.
The previous year had a median of 15 months. The next year, fiscal year 2019, had 24 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, the median was 16.2 months. For all guidelines in 2018, it was 24 months among 69,425 people.
The other 5 people (24%) in the group received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Position Against the Range
8 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range, and 8 (38%) were below it at the government's request. Another 5 (24%) were below the range without a request. None was above it.
In fiscal year 2017, 25% were within the range, and in fiscal year 2019 it was 33%. Across all years under §2D1.8, the share was 26%. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, it was 51%.
Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
All 21 people pleaded guilty, so no one was convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 21 people.
Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release was ordered for 15 people (71%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered for anyone (0%), and no restitution was ordered (0%).
In this group, 81% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 0% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Guideline and Its Fiscal Year
The Guidelines Manual titles §2D1.8 "Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment; Attempt or Conspiracy." The Commission files these cases under drug trafficking. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.
Across All Years in the Table
Across all years, 173 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 74% went to prison. The table lists the count and median for each year. Counts run from 8 to 24, and medians run from 2.5 months to 30 months.
The records do not explain that range. The median is the middle value of the prison terms for the people who went to prison, so a group of 15 people can produce a median far from the all-years figure. A sentence within the guideline range means the term fell inside the span of months the guidelines recommended for the offense level and criminal history. They include only people convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not served. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 19 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 24 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 21 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 12 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 17 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 22 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 22 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 15 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 13 | 15.7 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 8 | 2.5 months | 8 of 8 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.8 (21), 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.
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)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: 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.