18 U.S.C. 1959, Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the cases of 699 federal defendants ended with 18 U.S.C. 1959 as the most serious charge, and 124 of them (18%) went to trial. Only 3 of those 124 trials ended in an acquittal (2%). Of the 657 people convicted, 635 (97%) received a prison term on this charge, with a med
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the cases of 699 federal defendants ended with 18 U.S.C. 1959 as the most serious charge, and 124 of them (18%) went to trial. Only 3 of those 124 trials ended in an acquittal (2%). Of the 657 people convicted, 635 (97%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 120 months (10 years), and 135 received life.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 699 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.
Trials Under Section 1959
A jury decided 120 of the 124 trials. Those jury trials produced 3 acquittals (3%). Judges sitting without a jury decided the other 4, and none ended in an acquittal (0 of 4).
These rates use trials as the base. A defendant who pleaded guilty, or whose charges were dismissed, never reached a verdict and is not part of the trial count.
Across all 699 defendants, 657 (94%) were convicted, either by a guilty plea or by a verdict at trial.
The Heading and the Count
In the U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1959 carries the heading "Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity". The defendants counted here are those whose most serious remaining charge at the close of the case was under this section, in any subsection.
The Federal Judicial Center supplied the records, counted in the same way as the federal courts' Table D-4. Every defendant whose case ended is included, whether the result was a plea, a dismissal, a conviction at trial, or an acquittal. Each of the 699 charges was a felony. No Class A misdemeanor or petty offense appears.
Pleas and Dismissals
Most cases ended without a trial. Guilty pleas closed 536 cases (77%), and dismissals closed 39 (6%).
A dismissal in this data means the charges were dropped. That can include a case the government dismissed after the defendant pleaded guilty in some other case, so a dismissal is not always the end of a prosecution.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
Among the 657 convicted, 635 (97%) were given a prison term on this charge. For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 120 months (10 years). Life terms, 135 in all, are listed on their own.
The median marks the midpoint of the terms when they are sorted from shortest to longest. It does not describe the spread of terms on either side.
Appointed and Retained Lawyers
CJA panel attorneys represented 599 defendants (86%). These are private lawyers appointed by the court. In this group, 76% pleaded guilty, 5% had charges dismissed, and 113 went to trial, with 3 acquittals (3%).
Retained private counsel had 57 defendants (8%): 86% pleaded guilty, 2% were dismissed, and 7 went to trial with no acquittals (0 of 7). Federal public or community defenders had 37 defendants (5%): 84% pleaded guilty, 5% were dismissed, and 4 went to trial with no acquittals (0 of 4).
The counsel type is the one recorded when the case ended. The groups differ in their charges and circumstances, so the figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. The retained and defender groups had very few trials.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 37 | 84% | 5% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 599 | 76% | 5% | 113 | 3 (3%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 57 | 86% | 2% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
Year-by-Year Counts
Fiscal year 2022 had the most cases end, 100. Fiscal years 2016 and 2021 had the fewest, 50 each. The most trials came in fiscal year 2023, with 19.
The 3 acquittals came in fiscal year 2017, with 1, and fiscal year 2019, with 2. No other year had an acquittal.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 50 | 74% | 4% | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| 2017 | 63 | 67% | 6% | 17 | 1 (6%) |
| 2018 | 64 | 75% | 14% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
| 2019 | 83 | 84% | 4% | 10 | 2 (20%) |
| 2020 | 68 | 82% | 3% | 10 | 0 (0%) |
| 2021 | 50 | 90% | 4% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2022 | 100 | 80% | 6% | 14 | 0 (0%) |
| 2023 | 82 | 72% | 5% | 19 | 0 (0%) |
| 2024 | 85 | 76% | 2% | 18 | 0 (0%) |
| 2025 | 54 | 63% | 9% | 15 | 0 (0%) |
What These Numbers Leave Out
The records sort defendants only by the most serious charge left at the end. They contain no case facts and no reasons for a plea, a dismissal, or a verdict. The approved crosswalk names no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so the post covers federal cases alone.
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. 1959, any subsection (699), 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. 1957, Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1958, Use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1960, Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1962, Prohibited activities: 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.