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# 18 U.S.C. 844, Penalties: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-844-case-outcomes/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:55:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:55:30.000Z
- Description: Of the 864 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 844, 706 (82%) pleaded guilty and 63 (7%) went to trial in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those 63 trials, 15 ended in an acquittal (24%). Among the 754 convicted, 710 (94%) received a prison term on t
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › 18 U.S.C. 844

**In brief:** Of the 864 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 18 U.S.C. 844, 706 (82%) pleaded guilty and 63 (7%) went to trial in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of those 63 trials, 15 ended in an acquittal (24%). Among the 754 convicted, 710 (94%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 60 months (5 years).

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 864 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Judges and Juries Reached Different Results

Juries decided 50 of the trials under this section. Those juries acquitted in 7 cases, or 14%.

Judges sitting without a jury decided 13 trials. In 8 of them the defendant was acquitted, a rate of 62%.

The bench group is small, and the records do not show why a defendant chose a judge or a jury. Bench and jury trials can involve different charges and different disputes, so these rates are not a test of which fact-finder is more likely to acquit.

## What Section 844 Is Called

In the U.S. Code, Title 18, section 844 carries the heading "Penalties". The count includes a charge under any subsection of the section.

The Federal Judicial Center records are the source. They list every defendant whose case ended, so a dismissal or an acquittal counts the same as a sentencing. Each defendant is placed under the most serious charge left at the close of the case.

Almost every charge in this group was a felony: 860 defendants (more than 99%). Only 4 were charged at the Class A misdemeanor level, and no petty offenses were recorded.

## Pleas, Dismissals, and Convictions

After the 706 guilty pleas, the next largest group was dismissals: 95 defendants (11%). In these records a dismissal can include a case the government dropped on its own motion, for example after the same person pleaded guilty in a different case.

Counting both pleas and trial verdicts, 754 of the 864 defendants (87%) were convicted.

## Length of Prison Terms

A prison term on this charge was imposed on 710 of the 754 people convicted (94%). The median, among terms of 1 month or more, was 60 months (5 years). The records also list 1 life sentence.

A median is the middle value when terms are lined up from shortest to longest. It does not describe the spread of the other terms.

## Type of Counsel at the End of the Case

A federal public or community defender was listed for 389 defendants (45%). Of that group, 84% pleaded guilty, 11% were dismissed, and 20 went to trial, with 7 acquittals (35%).

A CJA panel attorney, a private lawyer appointed by the court, was listed for 296 defendants (34%). This group had 85% guilty pleas, 5% dismissals, and 28 trials, with 5 acquittals (18%).

Private (retained) counsel was listed for 161 defendants (19%). Guilty pleas were less common in this group, at 77%, and dismissals were more common, at 15%. Of its 13 trials, 3 ended in an acquittal (23%). Another 3 defendants represented themselves; 1 of 3 pleaded guilty, and both of the 2 who went to trial were convicted.

These figures sort cases into groups. They do not measure the quality of any lawyer. People who hire counsel and people who receive appointed counsel face different charges and circumstances.

| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Federal public or community defender   | 389        | 84%            | 11%       | 20     | 7 (35%)            |
| CJA panel attorney                     | 296        | 85%            | 5%        | 28     | 5 (18%)            |
| Private (retained) counsel             | 161        | 77%            | 15%       | 13     | 3 (23%)            |
| Self-represented                       | 3          | 1 of 3         | 0 of 3    | 2      | 0 (0 of 2)         |

## Fiscal Year Counts

Between 75 and 112 cases ended each fiscal year. The most trials came in fiscal year 2018: 12, with 5 acquittals (42%). Fiscal year 2025 had 7 trials and no acquittals. Its guilty plea rate was 74%, and fiscal year 2018 had 73%.

With trial counts this small in each year, the yearly acquittal numbers move a great deal and do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| 2016        | 91          | 86%            | 7%        | 7      | 5 (5 of 7)         |
| 2017        | 78          | 83%            | 9%        | 6      | 0 (0 of 6)         |
| 2018        | 75          | 73%            | 11%       | 12     | 5 (42%)            |
| 2019        | 89          | 83%            | 8%        | 8      | 1 (1 of 8)         |
| 2020        | 79          | 77%            | 15%       | 6      | 0 (0 of 6)         |
| 2021        | 84          | 87%            | 10%       | 3      | 1 (1 of 3)         |
| 2022        | 95          | 85%            | 12%       | 3      | 0 (0 of 3)         |
| 2023        | 112         | 85%            | 13%       | 2      | 1 (1 of 2)         |
| 2024        | 83          | 80%            | 10%       | 9      | 2 (2 of 9)         |
| 2025        | 78          | 74%            | 17%       | 7      | 0 (0 of 7)         |

## Limits of These Records

The data holds no evidence, no plea terms, and no reasons for a dismissal or a verdict. It records counsel only at the end of the case, not any earlier change of lawyer. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal cases are reported here.

### 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. 844, any subsection (864), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [18 U.S.C. 758, High speed flight from immigration checkpoint: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-758-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 842, Unlawful acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-842-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 871, Threats against President and successors to the Presidency: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-871-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 875, Interstate communications: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-875-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-appointed-vs-retained-counsel-outcomes/)
- [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.