18 U.S.C. 933, Trafficking in firearms: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2023–2025
Nearly every federal case under 18 U.S.C. 933 ended in a guilty plea. Of 163 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2023 to 2025, 156 (96%) pleaded guilty, 6 (4%) had their cases dismissed, and 1 went to trial. Among the 156 convicted, 152 (97%) received a prison term on that charge, with a me
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 933
In brief: Nearly every federal case under 18 U.S.C. 933 ended in a guilty plea. Of 163 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2023 to 2025, 156 (96%) pleaded guilty, 6 (4%) had their cases dismissed, and 1 went to trial. Among the 156 convicted, 152 (97%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 48 months (4 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 163 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2023 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.
Cases Recorded Only From Fiscal Year 2023
Title 18, section 933 of the U.S. Code is headed "Trafficking in firearms". The post covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025, but the Federal Judicial Center records show cases under this section ending only in fiscal years 2023 to 2025.
Most of the 163 cases ended in the last of those years. Fiscal year 2023 had 4, fiscal year 2024 had 40, and fiscal year 2025 had 119. With only 3 years of data, the yearly counts cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 40 | 93% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 119 | 97% | 3% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
Guilty Pleas Were the Usual Result
Of the 163 defendants, 156 pleaded guilty. That is 96%. Another 6 had their cases dismissed.
In these records, dismissed means the charges were dismissed. That includes cases dismissed on the government's motion, such as after a guilty plea in another case. A dismissal does not mean the defendant was found not guilty.
Every defendant counted here faced a felony on this charge. The records list 0 Class A misdemeanors and 0 petty offenses.
Prison Terms
All 156 convictions came from guilty pleas. Of those convicted, 152 received a prison term on this charge, or 97%.
The median term among defendants sentenced to 1 month or more was 48 months, or 4 years. The median is the middle term when all of them are put in order. It does not show the shortest or longest terms, and these records do not report them.
A Single Trial
Only 1 defendant went to trial in these years. That jury trial, in fiscal year 2025, ended in an acquittal.
One trial cannot support an acquittal rate. It shows only that the records include 1 contested case that reached a verdict, and that it did not end in a conviction.
Counsel at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 75 defendants (46%). Federal public or community defenders represented 48 (29%). Retained private counsel represented 39 (24%).
Guilty plea rates were 100% for retained counsel, 97% for CJA panel attorneys, and 92% for public or community defenders. The single trial involved a public or community defender.
The differences reflect 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 note counsel type only at 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 | 48 | 92% | 6% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| CJA panel attorney | 75 | 97% | 3% | 0 | 0 |
| Private (retained) counsel | 39 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
Where the Records Stop
These counts follow the most serious charge left at the end of each case. They do not show defendants charged under this section who ended up with a more serious final charge, or the facts and evidence in any case.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal figures appear 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. 933, any subsection (163), 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. 924, Penalties: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 930, Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1001, Statements or entries generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1014, Loan and credit applications generally; renewals and discounts; crop insurance: 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.