18 U.S.C. 1114, Protection of officers and employees of the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
All 41 federal defendants convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1114 in cases that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 201 months (16.8 years). Of the 53 defendants counted, 31 (58%) pleaded guilty, 10 (19%) had their cases dismissed, and 12 (23%) went to t
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 1114
In brief: All 41 federal defendants convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1114 in cases that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 201 months (16.8 years). Of the 53 defendants counted, 31 (58%) pleaded guilty, 10 (19%) had their cases dismissed, and 12 (23%) went to trial. Of the 12 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal (17%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 53 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.
Sentences for Those Convicted
Title 18, section 1114 of the U.S. Code has the heading "Protection of officers and employees of the United States". The Federal Judicial Center counted 53 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under it.
By plea or verdict, 41 of the 53 (77%) were convicted. Each of the 41 was sentenced to prison on this charge. Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 201 months. Life terms were imposed on 3 defendants.
The records list all 53 charges as felonies.
Trials and Acquittals
Trials ended 12 cases. Juries decided 10 of them and acquitted in 2 (20%). Judges decided the other 2 as bench trials, and neither ended in an acquittal.
This is a small group. A single added or missing acquittal would change the rate a great deal, so the 17% figure is best read as 2 cases out of 12.
Dismissed Cases
Charges were dismissed for 10 defendants. The records count as dismissed any case in which the charges were dropped, including dismissals on the government's motion after a guilty plea in another case. A dismissal in these records therefore does not always mean no conviction anywhere.
Counsel at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 28 defendants (53%). Federal public or community defenders represented 20 (38%). Retained private counsel represented 2, and 3 defendants represented themselves.
In CJA panel cases, 71% pleaded guilty and 14% were dismissed, with 1 acquittal in 4 trials. In public defender cases, 55% pleaded guilty and 20% were dismissed, with 1 acquittal in 5 trials. Both retained counsel cases were dismissed. All 3 self-represented defendants went to trial, and none were acquitted.
These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Counsel type is noted when the case ends, and the groups face different charges and circumstances.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 20 | 55% | 20% | 5 | 1 (1 of 5) |
| CJA panel attorney | 28 | 71% | 14% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 2 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Self-represented | 3 | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
Cases by Fiscal Year
No more than 10 cases ended in any single fiscal year. The most was 10 in fiscal year 2023, and the fewest was 2 in fiscal year 2025.
Fiscal years 2018 and 2024 each had 3 trials. Several years had none. Yearly counts this small cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3 of 4 | 1 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 3 of 7 | 1 of 7 | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| 2019 | 6 | 2 of 6 | 2 of 6 | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 2 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 3 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 10 | 50% | 30% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 of 8 | 0 of 8 | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 of 2 | 0 of 2 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
What Is Not in the Records
The data counts defendants by their most serious charge at the end of the case. It cannot show the facts behind a charge, the evidence, or the reasons for a dismissal or an acquittal.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so the numbers are reported on their own.
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. 1114, any subsection (53), 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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1111, Murder: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1112, Manslaughter: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1152, Laws governing: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1153, Offenses committed within Indian country: 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.