18 U.S.C. 1703, Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Charges under 18 U.S.C. 1703 were split between levels: 322 of 559 federal defendants (58%) faced a Class A misdemeanor and 237 (42%) a felony, in cases that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 491 (88%) pleaded guilty and 62 (11%) had their cases dismissed. Of the 495 convicted, 48 (10%) received a
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In brief: Charges under 18 U.S.C. 1703 were split between levels: 322 of 559 federal defendants (58%) faced a Class A misdemeanor and 237 (42%) a felony, in cases that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 491 (88%) pleaded guilty and 62 (11%) had their cases dismissed. Of the 495 convicted, 48 (10%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 4 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 559 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.
Felony or Misdemeanor?
The heading of this section of the U.S. Code is "Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers". The post relies on that heading and adds nothing about what the section covers.
Cases under section 1703 were recorded as both felonies and Class A misdemeanors. 237 defendants (42%) had a felony charge. 322 (58%) had a Class A misdemeanor charge. None was recorded as a petty offense.
The level is the level of the section 1703 charge at the end of the case. The records used here do not break down the other results by level.
Few Prison Terms
495 of the 559 defendants (89%) were convicted, by plea or at trial. Of those 495, 48 (10%) received a prison term on this charge.
For defendants with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 4 months. The median is the term in the middle when all terms are sorted by length.
The prison term figure covers only the section 1703 charge. Time imposed on other charges in the same case is not counted.
Pleas, Dismissals, and 6 Trials
491 defendants (88%) pleaded guilty. 62 (11%) had their charges dismissed. 6 (1%) went to trial.
Of the 6 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal. Juries heard 5 trials, and 1 of those 5 ended in an acquittal. A judge decided 1 bench trial, and it ended in an acquittal.
The Federal Judicial Center counts every defendant whose case ended, so dismissals and acquittals are included. A dismissal can be on the government's motion, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case.
Results by Fiscal Year
Between 31 and 78 cases ended each year. 2019 had the most and 2023 the fewest.
The share dismissed was higher in some recent years than in earlier ones. It was 20% in 2022, 23% in 2023, and 17% in 2024, compared with 5% in 2019 and 6% in 2020. The records do not say why the share changed.
The 2 acquittals came in 2019 and 2022, each in a year with a single trial. The full yearly breakdown is in the table below.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 66 | 89% | 11% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 62 | 89% | 10% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2018 | 62 | 90% | 10% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 78 | 94% | 5% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2020 | 48 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 62 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 55 | 78% | 20% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2023 | 31 | 77% | 23% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 46 | 80% | 17% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 49 | 86% | 10% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
Type of Counsel
Counsel type is noted when the case ends. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those given an appointed lawyer face different charges and circumstances. The numbers below describe groups of cases and do not measure how good any lawyer was.
Federal public or community defenders were recorded for 341 defendants (61%): 88% pleaded guilty, 11% were dismissed, 3 went to trial, and 1 of the 3 was acquitted.
Private (retained) counsel was recorded for 125 defendants (22%): 94% pleaded guilty and 5% were dismissed. CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, were recorded for 73 defendants (13%): 92% pleaded guilty and 7% were dismissed. Each of those 2 groups had 1 trial and no acquittal.
17 defendants (3%) represented themselves. In that small group, 41% pleaded guilty and 53% had their cases dismissed. 1 went to trial and was acquitted. With only 17 cases, these percentages rest on a handful of defendants, and like the other rows they describe the cases, not the quality of representation.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 341 | 88% | 11% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| CJA panel attorney | 73 | 92% | 7% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 125 | 94% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Self-represented | 17 | 41% | 53% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
What the Counts Leave Out
Each defendant is counted under the most serious charge at the end of the case, so the totals depend on how charges stood at that point.
The records do not show the facts of any case, the evidence, or why a case was pleaded, dropped, or tried. No court-martial offense is paired with this section in the approved crosswalk, and this post reports federal figures only.
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. 1703, any subsection (559), 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. 1623, False declarations before grand jury or court: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1701, Obstruction of mails generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1704, Keys or locks stolen or reproduced: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1708, Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally: 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.