18 U.S.C. 1711, Misappropriation of postal funds: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
None of the 253 federal defendants charged mainly under 18 U.S.C. 1711 whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 went to trial. Of them, 221 (87%) pleaded guilty and 32 (13%) had their cases dismissed. A prison term on the charge was rare: 16 of the 221 convicted (7%) received one, with a media
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In brief: None of the 253 federal defendants charged mainly under 18 U.S.C. 1711 whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 went to trial. Of them, 221 (87%) pleaded guilty and 32 (13%) had their cases dismissed. A prison term on the charge was rare: 16 of the 221 convicted (7%) received one, with a median of 5 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 253 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.
No Trials in 10 Fiscal Years
Every case under this section ended in 1 of 2 ways: a guilty plea or a dismissal. Guilty pleas ended 221 cases (87%), and dismissals ended 32 (13%). The trial count for the full period was 0.
Because no case went to trial, there is no acquittal rate to report. Every conviction under this section came from a guilty plea.
In the Federal Judicial Center data, a dismissed case is one where the charges were dismissed. This includes cases the government asked to dismiss, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case.
The Statute and the Count
Title 18, section 1711 carries the official heading "Misappropriation of postal funds". The post describes the law only by that heading.
Each of the 253 defendants is counted once, under the most serious charge at the end of the case. The method follows the federal courts' Table D-4. Defendants for whom this section was not the most serious charge are outside the count.
Felony or Misdemeanor?
The charge level was not the same in every case. Felonies made up 170 cases (67%). Class A misdemeanors made up 83 cases (33%). There were no petty offenses.
The sheet does not break down prison terms by charge level. The prison figures in the next section combine felony and misdemeanor cases.
How Often Did a Conviction Bring Prison?
Of the 221 people convicted, 16 (7%) received a prison term on this charge. The rest of the convicted group received no prison term on it.
Among those 16, the median term was 5 months. Only terms of 1 month or more are part of that median. Time ordered on other charges or in other cases is not included.
Fewer Cases in Later Years
The yearly count of cases ending under this section was 50 in fiscal year 2016. It was 9 in fiscal year 2022 and 9 again in fiscal year 2025.
In years with 9 cases, the table gives counts such as 6 of 9 instead of percentages. Yearly numbers this small can change a great deal from 1 case. The records do not show why fewer cases ended under this section in later years.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 50 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 47 | 83% | 17% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 40 | 88% | 13% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 28 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 26 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 18 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 9 | 6 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 12 | 75% | 25% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 14 | 79% | 21% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 7 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
Results by Type of Counsel
Federal public or community defenders represented 165 defendants (65%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 43 (17%). Retained private counsel also represented 43 (17%).
The guilty plea rate was 88% with a defender, 86% with a CJA panel attorney, and 91% with retained counsel. The dismissal rates were 12%, 14%, and 9%. These are differences between groups of cases, not a measure of how good any lawyer was. Defendants who hire counsel and those who are appointed counsel often face different facts and charges.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 165 | 88% | 12% | 0 | 0 |
| CJA panel attorney | 43 | 86% | 14% | 0 | 0 |
| Private (retained) counsel | 43 | 91% | 9% | 0 | 0 |
What the Data Leaves Out
The records list how each case ended, not the facts behind each charge. They also cannot show what led prosecutors to dismiss a case. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial match for this section, so only federal numbers appear here.
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. 1711, any subsection (253), 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. 1708, Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1709, Theft of mail matter by officer or employee: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1752, Restricted building or grounds: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2017–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1791, Providing or possessing contraband in prison: 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.