18 U.S.C. 554, Smuggling goods from the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Federal records list 1,137 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with 18 U.S.C. 554 as the most serious charge. Of those, 1,089 (96%) were convicted, nearly all by guilty plea. Among the 959 who received a prison term on that charge, the median term was 30 months (2.5 years).
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In brief: Federal records list 1,137 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with 18 U.S.C. 554 as the most serious charge. Of those, 1,089 (96%) were convicted, nearly all by guilty plea. Among the 959 who received a prison term on that charge, the median term was 30 months (2.5 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 1,137 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 on This Charge
A prison term on the section 554 charge was given to 959 of the 1,089 people convicted (88%).
Counting only terms of 1 month or more, the median was 30 months (2.5 years). The median is the middle term when all terms are listed in order. It does not show the shortest or longest terms.
Every one of the 1,137 charges was a felony (100%). The records list no Class A misdemeanors and no petty offenses under this section.
The Statute Heading and the Source
Title 18, section 554 of the U.S. Code is headed "Smuggling goods from the United States". The post reports case results only and does not describe what happened in any case.
The Federal Judicial Center supplied the data. A defendant is included when the case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and the most serious charge at the end of the case fell under this section. Cases that were dismissed or ended in acquittal are part of the count.
How the Cases Ended
Guilty pleas accounted for 1,072 defendants (94%). Charges were dismissed for 38 (3%), and 27 (2%) went to trial.
The dismissal figure includes cases dropped on the government's motion. Some of those defendants may have pleaded guilty in another case.
What Happened at Trial?
Of the 27 trials, 10 ended in an acquittal (37%). Juries heard 24 of the trials and acquitted in 9 (38%). Judges heard 3 bench trials and acquitted in 1 of 3.
This acquittal rate counts trials only. Measured against all 1,137 defendants, trials were a small part of the total.
Counsel Recorded at the End of the Case
Private (retained) counsel represented 431 defendants (38%), federal public or community defenders 380 (33%), and CJA panel attorneys 312 (27%). A CJA panel attorney is a private lawyer appointed by the court. The records list 1 defendant as self-represented.
Guilty plea rates were about the same across the federal defender, CJA panel, and private counsel groups: 95%, 95%, and 96%. Private counsel had 10 trials with 4 acquittals (40%). CJA panel attorneys had 11 trials with 3 acquittals (27%). Federal defenders had 6 trials with 3 acquittals (3 of 6).
The counsel numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants with retained and appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances, and each trial group is small.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 380 | 95% | 3% | 6 | 3 (3 of 6) |
| CJA panel attorney | 312 | 95% | 1% | 11 | 3 (27%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 431 | 96% | 2% | 10 | 4 (40%) |
| Self-represented | 1 | 1 of 1 | 0 of 1 | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year
Fewer cases ended in fiscal year 2016, at 39, than in any later year. Fiscal year 2025 had the most, at 169.
Guilty plea rates stayed between 89% and 98% across the years. No single year had more than 5 trials, so the yearly acquittal counts are too small to show a pattern.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 39 | 97% | 3% | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 67 | 94% | 0% | 4 | 2 (2 of 4) |
| 2018 | 105 | 89% | 7% | 5 | 2 (2 of 5) |
| 2019 | 114 | 91% | 7% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2020 | 96 | 98% | 2% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 137 | 97% | 1% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2022 | 105 | 92% | 4% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| 2023 | 146 | 92% | 5% | 5 | 1 (1 of 5) |
| 2024 | 159 | 96% | 2% | 3 | 2 (2 of 3) |
| 2025 | 169 | 96% | 2% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
What These Numbers Leave Out
The records show how each case ended, not why. They include no evidence, no plea terms, and no reasons for a dismissal or a verdict. The approved crosswalk lists 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. 554, any subsection (1,137), 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. 545, Smuggling goods into the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 553, Importation or exportation of stolen motor vehicles, off-highway mobile equipment, vessels, or aircraft: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 641, Public money, property or records: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 656, Theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee: 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.