21 U.S.C. 841, Prohibited acts A: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 82,948 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 21 U.S.C. 841, 77,290 (93%) pleaded guilty, 4,119 (5%) had their cases dismissed, and 1,539 (2%) went to trial, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those trials, 133 ended in an acquittal (9%). Among the 78,696 peo
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In brief: Of 82,948 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under 21 U.S.C. 841, 77,290 (93%) pleaded guilty, 4,119 (5%) had their cases dismissed, and 1,539 (2%) went to trial, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those trials, 133 ended in an acquittal (9%). Among the 78,696 people convicted, the median prison term on this charge was 63 months (5.2 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 82,948 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.
What This Count Covers
Title 21, section 841 of the U.S. Code carries the heading "Prohibited acts A". This post counts federal defendants whose most serious charge, as recorded when the case closed, was under that section. Any subsection counts.
The source is the Federal Judicial Center, which tracks every defendant whose case ended. That includes people whose charges were dismissed and people acquitted at trial, not only those sentenced. The count follows the method of the federal courts' Table D-4.
This is one of the largest groups of cases in federal court. Over the 10 fiscal years, 82,948 defendants were counted. A federal fiscal year begins on October 1.
A Guilty Plea Ended Most Cases
Of the 82,948 defendants, 77,290 pleaded guilty. That is 93% of the group.
Another 4,119 (5%) had their charges dismissed. In this data, a dismissal includes charges dropped on the government's motion. One example is a case dismissed after the defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case. A dismissal here does not always mean the person faced no conviction anywhere.
Only 1,539 defendants (2%) went to trial. Counting pleas and trial verdicts together, 78,696 of the 82,948 (95%) were convicted.
How Did the Trials End?
Of the 1,539 trials, 133 ended in an acquittal. That is 9% of trials.
Most trials were before a jury: 1,386, with 98 acquittals (7%). Bench trials, where a judge decides the verdict, numbered 153, with 35 acquittals (23%). The acquittal rate was higher in bench trials than in jury trials. The records do not show which cases went to a judge or why, so jury and bench cases may not be alike.
The yearly table shows trials and acquittals for each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. The number of trials each year stayed between 97 and 206. Acquittals in a single year ranged from 5 to 22.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7,742 | 93% | 5% | 138 | 14 (10%) |
| 2017 | 7,739 | 93% | 5% | 151 | 16 (11%) |
| 2018 | 7,909 | 93% | 5% | 163 | 21 (13%) |
| 2019 | 8,505 | 92% | 5% | 206 | 22 (11%) |
| 2020 | 7,221 | 93% | 5% | 153 | 8 (5%) |
| 2021 | 7,837 | 94% | 5% | 97 | 10 (10%) |
| 2022 | 9,153 | 93% | 5% | 162 | 19 (12%) |
| 2023 | 9,313 | 93% | 5% | 157 | 12 (8%) |
| 2024 | 9,150 | 94% | 4% | 162 | 5 (3%) |
| 2025 | 8,379 | 94% | 4% | 150 | 6 (4%) |
Charge Level and Prison Terms
Nearly every charge under this section was a felony: 82,792 defendants (more than 99%). Class A misdemeanors made up 156 cases (less than 1%). No petty offenses were recorded.
Of the 78,696 convicted, 75,368 (96%) received a prison term on this charge. Among those with a term of 1 month or more, the median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). The median is the middle term when all terms are put in order.
71 defendants received a life term on this charge.
Type of Counsel at the End of the Case
The records list the type of counsel at the time the case ended. A CJA panel attorney is a private lawyer appointed by the court to represent a defendant who cannot afford one. CJA panel attorneys represented 39,906 defendants (48%), the largest group.
Federal public or community defenders represented 25,951 defendants (31%). Private (retained) counsel represented 15,894 (19%). Only 63 defendants (less than 1%) represented themselves.
Guilty plea rates were about the same across the 3 lawyer groups: 95% for defenders, 94% for CJA panel attorneys, and 95% for retained counsel. At trial, defenders had 36 acquittals in 281 trials (13%). CJA panel attorneys had 72 in 922 (8%), and retained counsel had 25 in 331 (8%).
These numbers 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. Self-represented defendants had a different pattern: 37% pleaded guilty and 56% had their cases dismissed, and none of their 5 trials ended in an acquittal.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 25,951 | 95% | 4% | 281 | 36 (13%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 39,906 | 94% | 3% | 922 | 72 (8%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 15,894 | 95% | 3% | 331 | 25 (8%) |
| Self-represented | 63 | 37% | 56% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
Limits of These Records
The data counts each defendant by the most serious charge at the end of the case. A charge under this section that was dropped in favor of a different charge would not appear here.
The records cannot show the facts of any case, the strength of the evidence, or why a defendant chose to plead guilty or go to trial. Differences between groups describe the cases in each group. They do not show what caused those differences.
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. 841, any subsection (82,948), 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)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (comparison with courts-martial)
- 21 U.S.C. 331, Prohibited acts: 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)
- 21 U.S.C. 844, Penalties for simple possession: 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?
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Drug Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis (law firm reference page)
- 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.