18 U.S.C. 1152, Laws governing: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 111 federal defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 1152 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 95 (86%) were convicted, nearly all through guilty pleas. Felony charges made up 71 of the cases (64%) and Class A misdemeanors 40 (36%). Of those convicted, 68 (72%) received a prison term on this charge,
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In brief: Of 111 federal defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 1152 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 95 (86%) were convicted, nearly all through guilty pleas. Felony charges made up 71 of the cases (64%) and Class A misdemeanors 40 (36%). Of those convicted, 68 (72%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 24 months (2 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 111 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.
A Mix of Felony and Misdemeanor Charges
The heading of Title 18, section 1152 of the U.S. Code is "Laws governing". Federal Judicial Center records count 111 defendants under this section, based on the most serious charge at the end of each case.
The records list 71 of those charges as felonies and 40 as Class A misdemeanors. None were petty offenses.
Because both levels of charge are in the same count, the sentencing figures combine felony and misdemeanor convictions.
Who Received a Prison Term?
Among the 95 convicted, 68 were sentenced to prison on this charge. That leaves some convictions with no prison term on this charge, and those are not in the median.
For the 68 with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 24 months.
Guilty Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
Guilty pleas ended 90 cases (81%). Dismissals ended 13 (12%). Only 8 cases (7%) went to trial.
A dismissal here counts any case in which the charges were dropped. That can include a dismissal on the government's motion after the defendant pleaded guilty in a different case.
Of the 8 trials, 3 ended in an acquittal. Juries decided 7 of the trials and acquitted in 2. The 1 bench trial, decided by a judge, ended in an acquittal. With 8 trials in all, these counts are too small to support a rate that means much.
Type of Counsel
Federal public or community defenders represented 71 defendants (64%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 23 (21%). Retained private counsel represented 14 (13%).
Guilty pleas were 87% of public defender cases, 65% of CJA panel cases, and 93% of retained counsel cases. Dismissal rates were 8%, 13%, and 7%.
Public defender cases had 3 trials, all ending in an acquittal. CJA panel cases had 5 trials, with no acquittals. Retained counsel cases had no trials.
Counsel type is fixed at the end of the case, and defendants in each group face different charges and circumstances. These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 71 | 87% | 8% | 3 | 3 (3 of 3) |
| CJA panel attorney | 23 | 65% | 13% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 14 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
Yearly Counts
Between 6 and 16 cases ended in each fiscal year. In fiscal years 2018, 2021, and 2024, every case ended in a guilty plea.
Fiscal year 2025 had 4 of the 8 trials, and none ended in an acquittal. Fiscal year 2023 had 2 trials, and both ended in an acquittal. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 5 of 8 | 2 of 8 | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2017 | 16 | 81% | 19% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 12 | 83% | 8% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2020 | 6 | 4 of 6 | 2 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 73% | 27% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 13 | 77% | 8% | 2 | 2 (2 of 2) |
| 2024 | 10 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 50% | 10% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
Limits of the Data
These records count defendants by the section of the charge only. They cannot show the conduct behind a charge, the evidence in a case, or why charges were dismissed.
No close court-martial counterpart for this section appears in the approved crosswalk, so the federal numbers stand alone.
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. 1152, any subsection (111), 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. 1112, Manslaughter: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1114, Protection of officers and employees of the United States: 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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1163, Embezzlement and theft from Indian tribal organizations: 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.