18 U.S.C. 1513, Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1513 ended in an acquittal in 14 of 30 cases (47%) over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That count covers 155 defendants whose most serious charge was under this section when the case ended. Of those 155, 121 were convicted (78%), and the median prison term on this charge w
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In brief: Federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1513 ended in an acquittal in 14 of 30 cases (47%) over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That count covers 155 defendants whose most serious charge was under this section when the case ended. Of those 155, 121 were convicted (78%), and the median prison term on this charge was 35 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 155 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.
How Did the 30 Trials End?
Juries heard 28 of the 30 trials. They returned an acquittal in 14 of them (50%). Judges sitting without a jury heard the other 2 and acquitted in 0 of 2.
The 47% figure is a share of trials, not a share of all cases. It leaves out the 105 defendants who pleaded guilty and the 20 whose charges were dismissed.
With 30 trials in the period, each verdict carries weight in the rate.
The Statute and the Source
The heading of Title 18, section 1513 is "Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant." The records here come from the Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4.
A defendant is counted under this section when it was the most serious charge at the end of the case. The data includes every case that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, so it captures dismissals and acquittals as well as sentencings.
Pleas and Dismissals
Guilty pleas ended 105 cases (68%). Dismissals ended 20 (13%), and 30 went to trial (19%).
A dismissal in this data can be a charge dropped on the government's motion. That includes, for example, a case dropped after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case.
Charge Level and Prison
All 155 charges were felonies (100%). No Class A misdemeanors or petty offenses were recorded under this section.
Of the 121 people convicted, 111 (92%) received a prison term on this charge. For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 35 months (2.9 years). Life was recorded for 1 defendant.
The median marks the middle of the ranked terms and gives no range.
Counsel Recorded at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys represented 114 defendants (74%). These are private lawyers appointed by the court. Private (retained) counsel represented 24 (15%), and federal public or community defenders represented 16 (10%).
Most trials came from the CJA panel group: 25 trials, with 14 acquittals (56%). The federal defender group had 4 trials and 0 acquittals. The retained counsel group had 1 trial, which did not end in an acquittal.
Guilty pleas were 75% with retained counsel, 68% with CJA panel attorneys, and 56% with federal defenders. Dismissals were 21%, 10%, and 19%.
These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants who hire counsel and those who receive appointed counsel face different charges and circumstances, and the federal defender and retained counsel groups here are small.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 16 | 56% | 19% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 114 | 68% | 10% | 25 | 14 (56%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 24 | 75% | 21% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
Year by Year
Between 12 and 23 cases ended in each fiscal year. Fiscal year 2019 had the most trials, 9, with 4 acquittals. In fiscal year 2020, all 5 trials ended in an acquittal (5 of 5).
Fiscal years 2024 and 2025 had no trials. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 33% | 40% | 4 | 3 (3 of 4) |
| 2017 | 15 | 67% | 20% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2018 | 15 | 73% | 0% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| 2019 | 23 | 57% | 4% | 9 | 4 (4 of 9) |
| 2020 | 18 | 67% | 6% | 5 | 5 (5 of 5) |
| 2021 | 12 | 75% | 8% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2022 | 17 | 71% | 18% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2023 | 12 | 75% | 8% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2024 | 13 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 15 | 73% | 27% | 0 | 0 |
Outside the Records
The crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so the post reports federal numbers only. The records do not include evidence, case facts, or reasons for verdicts and dismissals.
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. 1513, any subsection (155), 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. 1503, Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1512, Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1519, Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1542, False statement in application and use of passport: 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.