18 U.S.C. 1542, False statement in application and use of passport: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Under 18 U.S.C. 1542, 749 of 892 federal defendants (84%) pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and only 25 (3%) went to trial. Of the 771 people convicted, 606 (79%) were sentenced to a prison term on this charge. The median term was 10 months.
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In brief: Under 18 U.S.C. 1542, 749 of 892 federal defendants (84%) pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and only 25 (3%) went to trial. Of the 771 people convicted, 606 (79%) were sentenced to a prison term on this charge. The median term was 10 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 892 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.
Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea
Of the 892 defendants whose cases ended, 749 pleaded guilty (84%). Another 118 (13%) had their charges dismissed. Just 25 (3%) went to trial.
Overall, 771 of the 892 were convicted (86%), either by plea or by verdict. Every charge counted here was a felony. The records show no Class A misdemeanors and no petty offenses under this section.
What the Records Count
Section 1542 of Title 18 has the official heading "False statement in application and use of passport." A defendant is included here when that section was the most serious charge at the end of the case.
The Federal Judicial Center supplies the counts, tallied the way the federal courts' Table D-4 tallies them. The data covers every case that ended in a fiscal year, so dismissals and acquittals appear alongside convictions. Each fiscal year starts on October 1.
Prison Terms on This Charge
A prison term on this charge was imposed on 606 of the 771 convicted defendants (79%). For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 10 months.
The median marks the midpoint of the ranked terms. The figure covers this charge only, and terms are those imposed by the court, not time actually served.
Trials and Acquittals
Juries heard 23 of the 25 trials and acquitted in 2 (9%). Judges sitting alone heard 2 trials and acquitted in 1 of 2. Across all 25 trials, 3 ended in an acquittal (12%).
With only 25 trials, a single verdict changes the acquittal rate noticeably. The rate also leaves out every guilty plea and dismissal.
Who Represented the Defendants?
Federal public or community defenders were recorded for 463 defendants (52%). Private (retained) counsel was recorded for 265 (30%), and CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, for 102 (11%). Self-representation was recorded for 2 defendants.
Guilty-plea shares were close across the groups: 91% for federal defenders, 87% for CJA panel attorneys, and 90% for retained counsel. Trials were few in each group: 9 for federal defenders with 2 acquittals, 6 for CJA panel attorneys with none, and 10 for retained counsel with 1 (10%).
Differences between these groups describe the cases each group handled, not the quality of the lawyers. Appointed and retained counsel tend to represent people in different situations, facing different charges.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 463 | 91% | 7% | 9 | 2 (2 of 9) |
| CJA panel attorney | 102 | 87% | 7% | 6 | 0 (0 of 6) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 265 | 90% | 6% | 10 | 1 (10%) |
| Self-represented | 2 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
Changes Across Fiscal Years
The number of cases ending each year was highest in fiscal year 2016, at 132, and lowest in fiscal year 2021, at 55. The dismissal share was 5% in fiscal year 2016 and 31% in fiscal year 2023, the highest in the table.
No year had more than 7 trials. The records do not explain the yearly changes, and counts this size do not establish a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 132 | 94% | 5% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2017 | 110 | 83% | 15% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2018 | 106 | 80% | 13% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
| 2019 | 128 | 91% | 7% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2020 | 88 | 89% | 9% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2021 | 55 | 78% | 20% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2022 | 67 | 84% | 12% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2023 | 70 | 66% | 31% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2024 | 60 | 78% | 20% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2025 | 76 | 82% | 14% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
Limits of These Numbers
No close court-martial counterpart for this section appears in the approved crosswalk, so the post reports federal cases only. The records hold no case facts, no evidence, and no reasons for pleas, dismissals, or verdicts.
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. 1542, any subsection (892), 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. 1513, Retaliating against 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. 1543, Forgery or false use of passport: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1544, Misuse 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.