18 U.S.C. 117, Domestic assault by an habitual offender: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 176 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 117, 169 (96%) were convicted, almost all by guilty plea. Nearly every conviction brought a prison term: 166 of the 169 (98%) received one on that charge, and the median term was 34 months (2.8 years). On
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 117
In brief: Of 176 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 117, 169 (96%) were convicted, almost all by guilty plea. Nearly every conviction brought a prison term: 166 of the 169 (98%) received one on that charge, and the median term was 34 months (2.8 years). Only 6 cases went to trial, and 2 of those 6 ended in an acquittal.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 176 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.
Prison Terms After a Conviction Under Section 117
Title 18, section 117 of the U.S. Code carries the heading "Domestic assault by an habitual offender". This post counts federal defendants in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose most serious charge, at the point the case ended, was under that section.
Among the 169 defendants who were convicted, 166 (98%) received a prison term on the section 117 charge. That leaves very few convictions without one.
The median prison term was 34 months, or 2.8 years. This median covers only defendants whose term was 1 month or more. It is the middle term in that group, so it says nothing about the longest or shortest sentences.
Every one of the 176 charges was recorded at the felony level. The records list no Class A misdemeanors and no petty offenses under this section.
Guilty Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
The Federal Judicial Center data counts every defendant whose case ended, not only those who were sentenced. Dismissals and acquittals are included.
Of the 176 defendants, 165 (94%) pleaded guilty. Another 5 (3%) had the charges dismissed, and 6 (3%) went to trial.
A dismissal in these records can mean several things. It includes cases the government asked the court to dismiss, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in a different case. A dismissal therefore does not by itself mean the defendant was found not guilty.
How Did the 6 Trials End?
All 6 trials were jury trials. No section 117 case in this period was tried to a judge alone.
Juries returned an acquittal in 2 of the 6 trials. The other trials ended in a conviction.
With only 6 trials over 10 fiscal years, this count is too small to treat as a stable acquittal rate. A single different verdict would change the share by a wide margin.
Who Represented the Defendants
The records note the type of counsel at the end of each case. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those who receive an appointed lawyer face different charges and circumstances. Any difference in the table below describes groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
A federal public or community defender represented 137 defendants (78%). In that group, 94% pleaded guilty, 3% had the case dismissed, 4 went to trial, and 1 of the 4 was acquitted.
A CJA panel attorney, a private lawyer appointed and paid by the court, represented 31 defendants (18%). The plea and dismissal shares were 94% and 3%. Only 1 case in that group went to trial, and it ended in an acquittal (1 of 1).
Retained private counsel appeared in 8 cases (5%). Of those 8, 7 pleaded guilty, none were dismissed, and the 1 trial did not end in an acquittal. Groups this small cannot support comparisons with the larger groups.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 137 | 94% | 3% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 31 | 94% | 3% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 8 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
Cases Ended in Each Fiscal Year
The yearly count ranged from 6 cases in fiscal year 2023 to 30 cases in fiscal year 2018. Guilty pleas made up most cases in every year.
Trials were scattered. No year had more than 2, and several years had none. Fiscal years 2018, 2020, and 2025 each recorded a 100% guilty-plea share.
A federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September, so these years do not match calendar years.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 75% | 8% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2017 | 26 | 92% | 4% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2018 | 30 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 29 | 93% | 3% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2020 | 25 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 12 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 8 | 6 of 8 | 1 of 8 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 6 | 6 of 6 | 0 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 14 | 93% | 0% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 14 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
Limits of These Records
There is no close court-martial counterpart for this statute in the approved crosswalk, so the numbers here stand on their own with no military comparison.
The counts follow the most serious charge at the end of a case. A defendant first charged under another section and later resolved under section 117 is counted here, and the reverse case is not.
The records do not explain why a case was dismissed, why a defendant chose a plea, or why a jury acquitted. They also do not describe the facts of any case.
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. 117, any subsection (176), 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. 113, Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 115, Influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 152, Concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; bribery: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 157, Bankruptcy fraud: 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.