21 U.S.C. 331, Prohibited acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 568 federal defendants convicted with 21 U.S.C. 331 as the most serious charge in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 155 (27%) received a prison term on that charge. The median term for those with 1 month or more was 15 months. Overall, 597 cases ended under this section, and 559 (94%) of them ended in a
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In brief: Of 568 federal defendants convicted with 21 U.S.C. 331 as the most serious charge in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 155 (27%) received a prison term on that charge. The median term for those with 1 month or more was 15 months. Overall, 597 cases ended under this section, and 559 (94%) of them ended in a guilty plea.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 597 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.
Most Convictions Did Not Include a Prison Term
The U.S. Code heading for Title 21, section 331 is "Prohibited acts". The Federal Judicial Center lists 597 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under this section. These are counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4.
Of the 568 defendants convicted, 155 received a prison term on this charge. That is 27%. The others were convicted without a prison term on this charge, and the records in this count do not list their sentences.
For those with a prison term of 1 month or more, the median term was 15 months.
Felony and Misdemeanor Charges
This section had a mix of charge levels. Felonies made up 323 cases (54%). Class A misdemeanors made up 274 (46%). No case ended with a petty offense as the most serious charge.
The charge level is the level of the most serious charge when the case ended. The data in this post does not break down prison terms by charge level.
Who Represented These Defendants?
Retained private counsel represented 434 defendants, or 73%. That was the largest group in the counsel table. CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 81 (14%). Federal public or community defenders represented 78 (13%), and 1 defendant (less than 1%) was self-represented.
The retained counsel group pleaded guilty in 95% of cases and had 4% dismissed. The CJA panel group pleaded guilty in 91% and had 1% dismissed. The federal defender group pleaded guilty in 91% and had 6% dismissed.
Type of counsel is the type recorded at the end of the case. The differences describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers, because defendants who hire a lawyer and defendants with 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 | 78 | 91% | 6% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| CJA panel attorney | 81 | 91% | 1% | 6 | 2 (2 of 6) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 434 | 95% | 4% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| Self-represented | 1 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 1 | 0 | 0 |
Trials and Acquittals
Only 11 defendants (2%) went to trial. Of those trials, 2 ended in an acquittal, or 18%.
The 9 jury trials produced 0 acquittals. The 2 bench trials, decided by a judge, both ended in an acquittal. Both acquittals came in fiscal year 2017, in cases handled by CJA panel attorneys. With 11 trials in total, this rate rests on very few cases.
Dismissals and Fiscal Year Counts
Dismissals ended 27 cases (5%). In these records a dismissal can include a case dropped on the government's motion after a guilty plea in a different case. In all, 568 of the 597 defendants (95%) were convicted, by plea or at trial.
Fiscal year 2016 had the most cases, at 94. Fiscal years 2024 and 2025 had the fewest, at 41 each. The guilty plea share was between 87% and 98% in each year, and the lowest share, 87%, was in fiscal year 2018. That year also had the highest dismissal share, 13%.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 94 | 96% | 3% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 70 | 94% | 3% | 2 | 2 (2 of 2) |
| 2018 | 61 | 87% | 13% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 79 | 94% | 4% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2020 | 47 | 94% | 2% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2021 | 60 | 92% | 5% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2022 | 45 | 93% | 4% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 59 | 95% | 3% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2024 | 41 | 95% | 5% | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 41 | 98% | 2% | 0 | 0 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
These records show the most serious charge, how each case ended, and the prison term on that charge. They do not show the facts of a case or the reasons behind a plea, a dismissal, or a sentence. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so this post gives federal numbers only.
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 21 U.S.C. 331, any subsection (597), 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)
- 21 U.S.C. 841, Prohibited acts A: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 21 U.S.C. 843, Prohibited acts C: 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.