18 U.S.C. 401, Power of court: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 271 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 401, 77 (28%) had their cases dismissed, 165 (61%) pleaded guilty, and 29 (11%) went to trial. Those cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 29 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal (7%), and 192 of th
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 401
In brief: Of 271 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 401, 77 (28%) had their cases dismissed, 165 (61%) pleaded guilty, and 29 (11%) went to trial. Those cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 29 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal (7%), and 192 of the 271 (71%) were convicted.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 271 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.
Dismissals Were Common Under This Section
Title 18, section 401 of the U.S. Code carries the heading "Power of court". This post counts every defendant in the Federal Judicial Center records whose case ended with a charge under that section as the most serious one. The count follows the method of the federal courts' Table D-4.
Dismissals ended 77 of the 271 cases, or 28%. A dismissal here means the charges were dismissed. That includes cases the government moved to dismiss, for example after the same defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case. The records do not say why any single case was dismissed.
Guilty pleas still made up the largest group, at 165 defendants (61%). A conviction by plea or at trial was recorded for 192 of the 271 (71%).
What Happened at Trial
The 29 trials are a small group. Of those 29 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal (7%).
The trials were close to evenly split between juries and judges. There were 14 jury trials, with 1 acquittal (7%). There were 15 bench trials, decided by a judge without a jury, also with 1 acquittal (7%).
With only 2 acquittals in the whole group, the rate could move a great deal with a single case. It should be read as a count of what happened, not as an estimate of future odds.
Felony or Misdemeanor?
Unlike many federal sections, cases under this one were not all felonies. The records list the level of the charge as a felony for 196 defendants (72%). Another 68 (25%) were Class A misdemeanors, and 7 (3%) were petty offenses.
The level matters for reading the prison numbers below. A misdemeanor or petty offense carries a lower maximum term than a felony, so a group that mixes levels will show a wider range of sentences.
Prison Terms on This Charge
Among the 192 people convicted, 158 (82%) received a prison term on this charge. The median term was 12 months. That median counts only those with a term of 1 month or more.
A median is the middle value when all the terms are put in order. It does not show the longest or shortest sentences.
Type of Counsel at the End of the Case
The records note the type of counsel each defendant had when the case ended. These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. People who hire a lawyer and people who receive an appointed one face different charges and circumstances.
A CJA panel attorney, a private lawyer appointed by the court and paid with federal funds, represented 85 defendants (31%). That group pleaded guilty 73% of the time, had 12% dismissed, and took 13 cases to trial with 0 acquittals.
Federal public or community defenders represented 70 defendants (26%), with 66% pleading guilty and 24% dismissed. Of their 7 trials, 1 ended in an acquittal. Private (retained) counsel represented 71 defendants (26%), with 80% pleading guilty and 10% dismissed; their 7 trials produced 0 acquittals.
Self-represented defendants numbered 6. None of the 6 pleaded guilty, 5 of 6 had their cases dismissed, and the 1 who went to trial was acquitted. A group this small cannot show a pattern, and the same caution applies: these are groups of cases, not a measure of anyone's skill.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 70 | 66% | 24% | 7 | 1 (1 of 7) |
| CJA panel attorney | 85 | 73% | 12% | 13 | 0 (0%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 71 | 80% | 10% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
| Self-represented | 6 | 0 of 6 | 5 of 6 | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
Year by Year
The yearly counts were small, from 14 cases in fiscal year 2020 to 43 in fiscal year 2022. In fiscal year 2023, 54% of the 28 cases ended in a dismissal, and none went to trial. In fiscal year 2021, 89% of the 19 cases ended in a guilty plea.
With so few cases in each year, these shifts are not trends. The records cannot show why one year differed from another.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 39 | 54% | 38% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2017 | 32 | 84% | 13% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2018 | 25 | 60% | 20% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2019 | 23 | 65% | 22% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2020 | 14 | 64% | 21% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2021 | 19 | 89% | 11% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 43 | 49% | 40% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2023 | 28 | 46% | 54% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 30 | 63% | 17% | 6 | 1 (1 of 6) |
| 2025 | 18 | 44% | 33% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
Limits of These Records
Each defendant is counted once, under the most serious charge at the end of the case. Charges that were dropped or reduced earlier do not appear here. The records also do not describe the facts behind any case, and no court-martial counterpart is matched to this section, so the federal numbers stand on their own.
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. 401, any subsection (271), 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. 287, False, fictitious or fraudulent claims: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 371, Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 471, Obligations or securities of United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 472, Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities: 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.