18 U.S.C. 2, Principals: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
From fiscal year 2016 through 2025, 185 federal defendants had their cases end with 18 U.S.C. 2 listed as the most serious charge. Of the 174 convicted, 137 (79%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 48 months (4 years). 169 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 2 of the 7 trials ended in an
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In brief: From fiscal year 2016 through 2025, 185 federal defendants had their cases end with 18 U.S.C. 2 listed as the most serious charge. Of the 174 convicted, 137 (79%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 48 months (4 years). 169 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 2 of the 7 trials ended in an acquittal.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 185 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.
Prison Terms Lead the Findings
Section 2 of Title 18 is headed "Principals" in the U.S. Code. This post refers to the law only by that heading.
Prison was the usual sentence on this charge. 137 of the 174 convicted defendants (79%) received a prison term on it. For those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 48 months (4 years), and 1 defendant received life.
The median is the middle term when all terms are ranked by length. It leaves out the convicted defendants who received no prison term on this charge.
Almost All Felony Charges
The charge was a felony for 180 defendants (97%). Only 5 (3%) faced a Class A misdemeanor, and there were no petty offenses.
Because nearly every charge was a felony, the prison figures above mostly reflect felony sentences.
How 185 Cases Ended
169 defendants (91%) pleaded guilty. The charges were dismissed for 9 (5%), which can include cases the government dropped after a guilty plea in another case. 7 defendants (4%) went to trial.
Counting pleas and trial verdicts together, 174 of the 185 (94%) were convicted. The Federal Judicial Center counts every defendant whose case ended, not only those who were sentenced.
What Happened at Trial?
Of the 7 trials, 5 were jury trials and 2 were bench trials decided by a judge. Juries acquitted in 1 of 5 trials. Judges acquitted in 1 of 2.
Overall, 2 of the 7 trials ended in an acquittal. With so few trials, the result is better read as a count than as a rate.
Type of Counsel
CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented the largest group: 84 defendants (45%). In that group, 93% pleaded guilty, 4% had their cases dismissed, and 1 of 3 trials ended in an acquittal.
Private (retained) counsel represented 69 defendants (37%), with 88% pleading guilty, 7% dismissed, and 1 of 3 trials ending in an acquittal. Federal public or community defenders represented 32 (17%); 94% pleaded guilty and their 1 trial did not end in an acquittal.
Counsel type is recorded at the end of the case. Defendants with hired and appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances, so these numbers 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 | 32 | 94% | 3% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| CJA panel attorney | 84 | 93% | 4% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 69 | 88% | 7% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
Changes Across the Fiscal Years
The number of cases ending each year was larger near the end of the period, with 36 in 2024 and 33 in 2025, against 12 in 2016. In 2016, 67% pleaded guilty and 17% had their cases dismissed. In 2018, 100% pleaded guilty.
These are counts of cases ending each year. They do not show how many people were charged, and the records do not explain the change.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 67% | 17% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2017 | 17 | 94% | 6% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 90% | 10% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 16 | 94% | 0% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2021 | 7 | 7 of 7 | 0 of 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 17 | 82% | 18% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 25 | 96% | 0% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2024 | 36 | 94% | 3% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 33 | 91% | 3% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
Limits
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this statute, so only federal numbers are reported. The records do not show what each defendant did, what other charges were filed, or why any case ended as it did.
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. 2, any subsection (185), 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. 3, Accessory after the fact: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 4, Misprision of felony: 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.