Federal Defendants Who Represented Themselves: How Their Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15,342 federal defendants represented themselves at the end of the case. More of these cases were dismissed than ended in a guilty plea: 9,017 (59%) were dismissed, 6,126 (40%) pleaded guilty, and 199 (1%) went to trial. Most of the charges were misdemeanors or petty of
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15,342 federal defendants represented themselves at the end of the case. More of these cases were dismissed than ended in a guilty plea: 9,017 (59%) were dismissed, 6,126 (40%) pleaded guilty, and 199 (1%) went to trial. Most of the charges were misdemeanors or petty offenses, not felonies.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 15,342 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
Mostly Misdemeanor and Petty Charges
Most of these defendants faced minor charges. The most serious charge at the end of the case was a Class A misdemeanor for 12,648 defendants and a petty offense for 2,291. Only 403 faced a felony.
The most common charge section was 18 U.S.C. 13, with 10,953 defendants. That statute, the Assimilative Crimes Act, applies state criminal law to conduct on federal land such as military bases and national parks. Next came 21 U.S.C. 844, simple drug possession, with 1,505, and 18 U.S.C. 641, theft of government money or property, with 1,267.
Smaller groups were charged under 18 U.S.C. 113, assault within federal jurisdiction (315), 18 U.S.C. 661, theft within federal jurisdiction (104), and 50 U.S.C. 797, violation of security regulations at defense facilities (99).
How These Cases Ended
Of the 15,342 cases, 9,017 (59%) were dismissed. Another 6,126 (40%) ended in a guilty plea. Only 199 (1%) went to trial.
In total, 6,288 defendants (41%) were convicted, either by plea or at trial. The rest had their cases dismissed or were acquitted.
These figures do not show that self-representation leads to dismissal. The records do not say why a case was dismissed, and many of these charges were minor offenses.
Trials Without a Lawyer
Of the 199 trials, 37 ended in an acquittal (19%). Most of these trials were bench trials, decided by a judge: 122, with 33 acquittals (27%).
Jury trials were fewer, 77, and 4 ended in an acquittal (5%). These trial counts are small, and the rates rest on few verdicts.
Year-by-Year Counts
The number of self-represented defendants was highest in fiscal year 2016, at 2,628, and lowest in fiscal year 2021, at 819. A federal fiscal year runs from October through the following September.
The guilty plea share varied from year to year. It was highest in fiscal year 2021 at 52% and lowest in fiscal year 2023 at 25%. In 2023, 74% of the 1,483 cases were dismissed.
Trials in any one year were few, from 34 in fiscal year 2016 down to 8 in fiscal year 2025. In 2025, 1 of the 8 trials ended in an acquittal. Single-year acquittal rates this small should not be read as trends.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2,628 | 36% | 63% | 34 | 4 (12%) |
| 2017 | 2,173 | 45% | 54% | 28 | 8 (29%) |
| 2018 | 2,169 | 43% | 56% | 28 | 5 (18%) |
| 2019 | 1,708 | 43% | 56% | 22 | 4 (18%) |
| 2020 | 1,198 | 41% | 58% | 12 | 1 (8%) |
| 2021 | 819 | 52% | 45% | 24 | 7 (29%) |
| 2022 | 980 | 44% | 54% | 14 | 3 (21%) |
| 2023 | 1,483 | 25% | 74% | 12 | 1 (8%) |
| 2024 | 1,031 | 33% | 66% | 17 | 3 (18%) |
| 2025 | 1,153 | 42% | 57% | 8 | 1 (1 of 8) |
A Small Share of All Federal Defendants
Self-represented defendants were 15,342 of the 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, or 2%. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case, and this count follows the federal courts' Table D-4.
A defendant counted here may have had a lawyer earlier in the case. The count shows only who had no lawyer when the case ended.
Courts-Martial and What the Data Leaves Out
In court-martial records, an accused who waives counsel is rare and is not counted in this data. No military comparison is given.
The federal records do not show why a defendant chose to proceed without a lawyer, what evidence was involved, or what sentence followed a conviction. The figures describe these groups of cases and do not measure the value of having a lawyer.
How We Counted
Federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with type of counsel recorded as self-represented (pro se) (15,342), Federal Judicial Center.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Appointed vs. Retained Counsel in Federal Criminal Cases, Year by Year, FY2016–2025
- Federal Trials by Type of Counsel: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal, FY2016–2025
- 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.