> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:46.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2019, the middle prison term for the 3,430 people sentenced federally for powder cocaine trafficking was 60 months (5 years). A quarter of the prison terms were 30 months or less, and a quarter were 100 months or more. A mandatory minimum applied to 2,662 people (78%), higher than the - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Drug Distribution and Importation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) › Powder Cocaine: FY2019 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2019, the middle prison term for the 3,430 people sentenced federally for powder cocaine trafficking was 60 months (5 years). A quarter of the prison terms were 30 months or less, and a quarter were 100 months or more. A mandatory minimum applied to 2,662 people (78%), higher than the 69% for all drug trafficking cases that year. Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,430 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## The Spread of Prison Terms The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 3,430 people sentenced under guideline §2D1.1 in fiscal year 2019 whose primary drug was powder cocaine. Of them, 3,323 (97%) were sent to prison. The median, or middle value, of those prison terms was 60 months. At the short end, one quarter of the terms were 30 months or less. At the long end, another quarter were 100 months or more. Life sentences were imposed on 7 people. At the other end, 77 people (2%) received probation only. Their sentences included no prison or other confinement. ## A Statutory Floor in Most Cases Drug statutes set mandatory minimum prison terms that apply in many trafficking cases. For powder cocaine in fiscal year 2019, a minimum applied in 2,662 cases, or 78%. All §2D1.1 trafficking cases that year numbered 19,463 across every drug. A minimum applied to 69% of that larger group. The median prison term for all drugs was 60 months, the same as for powder cocaine. ## Pleas, Agreements, and Trials Guilty pleas accounted for 3,331 of the 3,430 people (97%). Trials produced the other 99 convictions. With a guilty plea, the median prison term was 60 months. After conviction at trial, the median was 125 months, and all 99 people convicted at trial went to prison. The trial group is small and may involve different charges, so the medians describe the groups rather than the cost of a trial. A written plea agreement was part of 88% of guilty pleas. A straight plea, with no agreement, was entered in 12%. ## Comparing Sentences With the Guidelines The guideline range is the span of months the sentencing guidelines recommend for a person. Of 3,429 sentences with this information, 1,316 (38%) were within it. The government asked for a term below the range in 1,108 cases (32%). The judge sentenced below the range with no government request in 952 cases (28%). Terms above the range were given in 53 cases (2%). ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Prior Records Supervised release is a period of court supervision that begins after prison. It was ordered for 3,151 people (92%), with a median of 48 months, and 5 people (less than 1%) were placed on supervision for life. A fine was part of 167 sentences (5%), and restitution was part of 10 (less than 1%). For prior record, 62% fell in criminal history category I and 7% in category VI. The military justice records used elsewhere on this site have no criminal history field. ## Each Year From 2016 to 2025 Combined, fiscal years 2016 to 2025 include 32,561 people sentenced for powder cocaine trafficking. The median prison term for those years was 60 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 69% of them. The table gives the yearly counts, medians, and plea rates. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 3,642 | 60 months | 97% | | 2017 | 3,796 | 60 months | 97% | | 2018 | 3,523 | 60 months | 97% | | 2019 | 3,430 | 60 months | 97% | | 2020 | 2,519 | 57 months | 98% | | 2021 | 2,763 | 60 months | 98% | | 2022 | 3,303 | 60 months | 98% | | 2023 | 3,347 | 60 months | 98% | | 2024 | 3,323 | 60 months | 98% | | 2025 | 2,915 | 60 months | 98% | ## What Cannot Be Read From These Figures Only convicted and sentenced people are in the Sentencing Commission data, so the counts leave out acquittals and dismissals. Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019. No court-martial comparison is offered for this drug, because military records do not list drug type in a countable form. Drug distribution under the military code is covered in separate posts. The federal figures also do not reveal the reasons behind any sentence. ### How We Counted People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was cocaine (3,430), U.S. Sentencing Commission. 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. **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. **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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) (overview) - [Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2018/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-methamphetamine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-heroin-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-2023-sentencing-reform-so-far/) - [Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-acquittal-rate-vs-courts-martial/) - [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) (court-martial data) - [Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.