16 U.S.C. 3372, Prohibited acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 513 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 16 U.S.C. 3372, 464 (90%) pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only 2 went to trial, and neither ended in an acquittal. Among the 466 people convicted, 103 (22%) received a prison term on that charge, with a
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In brief: Of 513 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 16 U.S.C. 3372, 464 (90%) pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only 2 went to trial, and neither ended in an acquittal. Among the 466 people convicted, 103 (22%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 8 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 513 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.
What Section 3372 Is
Title 16, section 3372 of the U.S. Code carries the official heading "Prohibited acts". This post uses only that heading to identify the statute.
The count comes from the Federal Judicial Center. It includes every defendant whose case ended in the period, including those whose charges were dismissed. A defendant is placed under section 3372 when it was the most serious charge left at the end of the case.
Felony and Misdemeanor Charges Were Almost Even
The level of the charge was split nearly evenly. 258 defendants (50%) faced a felony under this section, and 255 (50%) faced a Class A misdemeanor. No petty offenses were recorded.
That split matters when reading the prison numbers below. A misdemeanor and a felony carry different possible sentences, and the records here combine both levels into one group.
Prison Terms on the Section 3372 Charge
Of the 466 defendants convicted, 103 (22%) received a prison term on that charge. The other convicted defendants did not receive prison time on the section 3372 count.
For those with a term of 1 month or more, the median prison term was 8 months. The median is the middle value when the terms are listed from shortest to longest. It does not describe the sentences of the people who received no prison term.
Guilty Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
Most cases ended with a guilty plea: 464 of 513, or 90%. Another 47 defendants (9%) had their cases dismissed. Dismissal includes cases dropped on the government's motion, such as after the defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case.
Trials were very uncommon. 2 defendants (less than 1%) went to trial, both before a jury. Neither trial ended in an acquittal (0 of 2), and in total 466 of the 513 (91%) were convicted, by plea or at trial.
With only 2 trials over the whole period, the records cannot support any acquittal rate for this statute.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 72 | 94% | 3% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2017 | 35 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 67 | 91% | 9% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 47 | 89% | 11% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 53 | 91% | 9% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 58 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 46 | 76% | 24% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 55 | 91% | 9% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 44 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 36 | 89% | 11% | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year
The yearly table shows the number of cases ending each fiscal year, from 72 in 2016 to 36 in 2025.
The guilty plea share was 89% or higher in most years. The exception was 2022, when 76% pleaded guilty and 24% had their cases dismissed. The records do not explain why that year differed.
Type of Counsel at the End of the Case
Private (retained) counsel represented 310 defendants (60%), the largest group. Of them, 94% pleaded guilty and 5% had their cases dismissed. Federal public or community defenders represented 87 defendants (17%), with 95% pleading guilty.
CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 91 defendants (18%). Among them, 88% pleaded guilty and 11% had their cases dismissed. 13 defendants (3%) represented themselves; 69% of them pleaded guilty and 31% had their cases dismissed.
These groups are not comparable on equal terms. People who hire a lawyer and people who receive an appointed one face different charges and circumstances. The differences describe groups of cases, not the quality of any lawyer.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 87 | 95% | 5% | 0 | 0 |
| CJA panel attorney | 91 | 88% | 11% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 310 | 94% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Self-represented | 13 | 69% | 31% | 0 | 0 |
Limits of These Records
There is no close court-martial counterpart for this statute in the approved crosswalk, so the numbers stand alone. The data records how each case ended and the sentence on one charge. It does not show the facts of any case, the strength of the evidence, or why prosecutors dismissed a charge.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 16 U.S.C. 3372, any subsection (513), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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)
- 16 U.S.C. 704, Determination as to when and how migratory birds may be taken, killed, or possessed: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 16 U.S.C. 1538, Prohibited acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 16 U.S.C. 3373, Penalties and sanctions: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.