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# 18 U.S.C. 1001, Statements or entries generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-1001-case-outcomes/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:55:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:55:14.000Z
- Description: Federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1001 ended in acquittal 26% of the time in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 36 of 139 trials. Trials were uncommon, though. Of 4,273 defendants, 3,840 (90%) pleaded guilty, and 3,943 (92%) were convicted.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › 18 U.S.C. 1001

**In brief:** Federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1001 ended in acquittal 26% of the time in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 36 of 139 trials. Trials were uncommon, though. Of 4,273 defendants, 3,840 (90%) pleaded guilty, and 3,943 (92%) were convicted.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 4,273 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](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/).

## Trials and Acquittals

Title 18, section 1001 of the U.S. Code is headed "Statements or entries generally". The Federal Judicial Center records counted here cover 4,273 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under that section.

Only 139 of those defendants (3%) went to trial. Of those trials, 36 ended in an acquittal, or 26%.

Jury trials made up 125 of the 139, with 24 acquittals (19%). Bench trials, where a judge decides the case, numbered 14, and 12 of them ended in acquittal (86%). With only 14 bench trials, that rate rests on very few cases. The records also cannot show why a case was tried to a judge rather than a jury.

## Year-by-Year Trial Counts Were Small

Trials per fiscal year ranged from 6 in 2021 to 21 in 2019\. Acquittals in a single year ranged from 1 to 8.

Counts this small can change a great deal from one year to the next. The yearly acquittal figures, such as 40% in fiscal year 2017 and 8% in fiscal year 2020, should not be read as a trend.

Cases ended per year ranged from 325 in fiscal year 2018 to 543 in fiscal year 2020\. The guilty plea rate was 86% to 93% across the period.

| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| 2016        | 372         | 88%            | 9%        | 12     | 3 (25%)            |
| 2017        | 343         | 86%            | 8%        | 20     | 8 (40%)            |
| 2018        | 325         | 86%            | 9%        | 19     | 6 (32%)            |
| 2019        | 431         | 86%            | 9%        | 21     | 3 (14%)            |
| 2020        | 543         | 92%            | 6%        | 12     | 1 (8%)             |
| 2021        | 449         | 93%            | 6%        | 6      | 4 (4 of 6)         |
| 2022        | 532         | 91%            | 7%        | 13     | 4 (31%)            |
| 2023        | 457         | 90%            | 8%        | 7      | 1 (1 of 7)         |
| 2024        | 455         | 92%            | 5%        | 16     | 2 (13%)            |
| 2025        | 366         | 92%            | 4%        | 13     | 4 (31%)            |

## Pleas and Dismissals

Guilty pleas resolved 3,840 cases, which is 90% of the total. Another 294 defendants (7%) had their cases dismissed.

A dismissal in these records means the charges were dismissed. Some were dismissed on the government's motion, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case. The records do not separate those dismissals from the rest.

## Level of the Charge and Prison Terms

Every defendant in this group faced a felony on this charge: 4,273, or 100%. No Class A misdemeanors or petty offenses were recorded.

Of the 3,943 convicted, 2,828 received a prison term on this charge, or 72%. The median term among those sentenced to 1 month or more was 9 months. The rest of the convicted defendants did not receive a prison term on this charge, and these records do not say what sentence they received instead.

## How Cases Ended by Type of Counsel

Federal public or community defenders represented 1,890 defendants (44%). CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 1,205 (28%). Retained private counsel represented 1,106 (26%).

Defendants with retained counsel pleaded guilty less often (85%) and went to trial more often: 68 trials, compared with 33 for public or community defenders and 38 for CJA panel attorneys. Retained counsel also had the highest dismissal rate, 9%. Trial acquittal rates were 21% for public or community defenders, 29% for CJA panel attorneys, and 26% for retained counsel.

These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those who receive an appointed lawyer face different charges and circumstances. Counsel type is recorded only at the end of the case.

| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Federal public or community defender   | 1,890      | 95%            | 4%        | 33     | 7 (21%)            |
| CJA panel attorney                     | 1,205      | 92%            | 4%        | 38     | 11 (29%)           |
| Private (retained) counsel             | 1,106      | 85%            | 9%        | 68     | 18 (26%)           |

## What the Counts Leave Out

The records do not include the facts of any case or the evidence at trial. They count only defendants whose most serious final charge fell under this section, so cases where it was a lesser count are not here.

The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this section. Only federal numbers are reported.

### 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 18 U.S.C. 1001, any subsection (4,273), 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](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)
- [18 U.S.C. 930, Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-930-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 933, Trafficking in firearms: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2023–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-933-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 1014, Loan and credit applications generally; renewals and discounts; crop insurance: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-1014-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 1015, Naturalization, citizenship or alien registry: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-1015-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-appointed-vs-retained-counsel-outcomes/)
- [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/)
- [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.