18 U.S.C. 2119, Motor vehicles: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Federal records list 1,277 defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 2119 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 1,112 (87%) were convicted, and 1,096 of those convicted received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 97 months (8.1 years). Another 85 defendants (7%) went to trial, and 20
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In brief: Federal records list 1,277 defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 2119 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 1,112 (87%) were convicted, and 1,096 of those convicted received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 97 months (8.1 years). Another 85 defendants (7%) went to trial, and 20 of those trials ended in an acquittal (24%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 1,277 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.
Long Prison Terms on This Charge
Title 18, section 2119 has the heading "Motor vehicles" in the U.S. Code. The Federal Judicial Center records used here sort each defendant by the most serious charge remaining when the case ended.
Of the 1,112 convicted, 1,096 received a prison term on this charge. That is 99%. The median term among defendants sentenced to 1 month or more was 97 months, or 8.1 years. A further 16 defendants received life.
A median is the middle term after all terms are ordered from shortest to longest. It does not show how widely the terms varied.
Trials and Acquittals
Of the 85 trials, 80 were before a jury and 5 were bench trials decided by a judge. Juries acquitted in 17 trials, which is 21%. Judges acquitted in 3 of 5 bench trials.
Across all 85 trials, 20 ended in an acquittal, or 24%. An acquittal here means the defendant was found not guilty at trial on the case as recorded.
A trial is a contested case that reached a verdict. Trials were uncommon in this group, at 7% of all defendants, so the acquittal share describes a small part of the cases.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 89 | 81% | 13% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2017 | 105 | 75% | 17% | 8 | 2 (2 of 8) |
| 2018 | 83 | 71% | 16% | 11 | 4 (36%) |
| 2019 | 127 | 78% | 17% | 6 | 3 (3 of 6) |
| 2020 | 96 | 89% | 8% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2021 | 101 | 82% | 15% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| 2022 | 168 | 87% | 8% | 9 | 5 (5 of 9) |
| 2023 | 190 | 82% | 9% | 17 | 2 (12%) |
| 2024 | 163 | 85% | 9% | 9 | 1 (1 of 9) |
| 2025 | 155 | 83% | 8% | 14 | 2 (14%) |
Guilty Pleas and Dismissals
Most cases did not go to trial. Of the 1,277 defendants, 1,047 pleaded guilty (82%), and 145 had their cases dismissed (11%).
A dismissal in these records means the charges were dismissed. It includes cases dismissed on the government's motion, for example after a defendant pleaded guilty in another case. A dismissal is a separate result from an acquittal.
Every defendant faced a felony on this charge. The records show 0 Class A misdemeanors and 0 petty offenses.
Changes Across Fiscal Years
The number of cases ending each year was lower early in the period than late in it. Fiscal year 2018 had 83, and fiscal year 2023 had 190.
The guilty plea share ranged from 71% in fiscal year 2018 to 89% in fiscal year 2020. Trials were fewest in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, with 3 in each, and most numerous in fiscal year 2023, with 17. Yearly trial counts are small, so the yearly acquittal figures move with a few cases.
Counsel at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys represented 647 defendants (51%). A CJA panel attorney is a private lawyer appointed by the court. Federal public or community defenders represented 529 (41%), retained private counsel represented 84 (7%), and 1 defendant was self-represented.
Guilty pleas were 92% for retained counsel, 87% for public or community defenders, and 78% for CJA panel attorneys. CJA panel attorneys had 60 trials, with 9 acquittals (15%). Public or community defenders had 24 trials, with 11 acquittals (46%). Retained counsel had 1 trial, which did not end in an acquittal.
These differences describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those who receive an appointed lawyer face different charges and circumstances. The records list counsel type only as of the end of the case.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 529 | 87% | 8% | 24 | 11 (46%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 647 | 78% | 12% | 60 | 9 (15%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 84 | 92% | 7% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Self-represented | 1 | 1 of 1 | 0 of 1 | 0 | 0 |
What These Numbers Cannot Show
The Federal Judicial Center counts every defendant whose case ended, including dismissals and acquittals. A defendant first charged under section 2119 whose final most serious charge was under another section is not counted here.
The records do not show the facts, the evidence, or the reasons behind any plea, dismissal, or verdict. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal numbers appear.
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. 2119, any subsection (1,277), 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. 2114, Mail, money, or other property of United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2118, Robberies and burglaries involving controlled substances: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2237, Criminal sanctions for failure to heave to, obstruction of boarding, or providing false information: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2241, Aggravated sexual abuse: 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.