18 U.S.C. 1962, Prohibited activities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Federal cases under 18 U.S.C. 1962 ended in conviction 98% of the time: 2,869 of 2,933 defendants whose cases closed in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Most convictions came by plea, since 2,679 defendants (91%) pleaded guilty. Of those convicted, 2,746 (96%) received a prison term on this charge, with a
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In brief: Federal cases under 18 U.S.C. 1962 ended in conviction 98% of the time: 2,869 of 2,933 defendants whose cases closed in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Most convictions came by plea, since 2,679 defendants (91%) pleaded guilty. Of those convicted, 2,746 (96%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 96 months (8 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 2,933 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.
About the Section and the Records
Title 18, section 1962 of the U.S. Code has the heading "Prohibited activities". This post counts the federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under this section, in any of its subsections.
The Federal Judicial Center is the source, and the count follows the federal courts' Table D-4. Dismissed and acquitted defendants are part of the total. Every one of the 2,933 charges was a felony.
Few Dismissals, Many Pleas
Only 55 cases (2%) ended in dismissal. In these records, a dismissal can include a case the government dropped after the defendant pleaded guilty in another matter.
Guilty pleas closed 2,679 cases (91%). The remaining 199 defendants (7%) went to trial.
How Did the Trials End?
Of the 199 trials, 9 ended in an acquittal (5%). Juries heard 192 trials and acquitted in 6 (3%). Judges sitting without a jury heard 7 and acquitted in 3 of 7.
The bench trial count is very small. A result of 3 of 7 should not be read as a rate that would hold for other cases.
Acquittal rates here are measured only against trials. They exclude all guilty pleas and dismissals.
Prison Terms
A prison term on this charge was ordered for 2,746 of the 2,869 people convicted (96%). For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 96 months (8 years). A further 66 defendants received life.
The median is the midpoint of the terms in sorted order. It does not describe the range of terms.
Type of Counsel
CJA panel attorneys represented 2,372 defendants (81%). A CJA panel attorney is a private lawyer appointed by the court. In this group, 93% pleaded guilty, less than 1% were dismissed, and 157 went to trial, with 5 acquittals (3%).
Private (retained) counsel represented 460 defendants (16%). Of those, 90% pleaded guilty, 2% were dismissed, and 38 went to trial, with 4 acquittals (11%). Federal public or community defenders had 72 defendants (2%): 92% pleaded guilty, 3% were dismissed, and 4 went to trial without an acquittal (0 of 4).
The acquittal share at trial was higher in the retained group than in the CJA panel group. That comparison has limits. People who hire their own lawyer and people assigned one tend to face different charges and circumstances, so the figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 72 | 92% | 3% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 2,372 | 93% | less than 1% | 157 | 5 (3%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 460 | 90% | 2% | 38 | 4 (11%) |
Changes Across Fiscal Years
The most cases ended in fiscal year 2018, with 407. The fewest ended in fiscal year 2025, with 203. That year also had the most trials, 31, and the lowest guilty plea share, 83%.
Acquittals were scattered. Fiscal year 2019 had 3 (11%). Fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 had none. Shifts of this size from year to year are not a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 335 | 91% | 2% | 23 | 2 (9%) |
| 2017 | 328 | 94% | less than 1% | 17 | 1 (6%) |
| 2018 | 407 | 95% | 1% | 15 | 1 (7%) |
| 2019 | 371 | 90% | 2% | 28 | 3 (11%) |
| 2020 | 258 | 84% | 4% | 29 | 0 (0%) |
| 2021 | 218 | 94% | less than 1% | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| 2022 | 276 | 93% | less than 1% | 16 | 1 (6%) |
| 2023 | 280 | 90% | 4% | 18 | 0 (0%) |
| 2024 | 257 | 94% | 2% | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| 2025 | 203 | 83% | 2% | 31 | 1 (3%) |
Limits of the Count
Each defendant is counted under the most serious charge left at the end of the case. The data has no information on the facts of a case or the reasons for a verdict. Prison terms reflect this charge only. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so this post reports 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. 1962, any subsection (2,933), 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. 1959, Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity: 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. 2111, Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2113, Bank robbery and incidental crimes: 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.