21 U.S.C. 846, Attempt and conspiracy: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 86,132 federal defendants had a most serious charge under 21 U.S.C. 846 when their cases ended, and 78,583 of them (91%) were convicted. The median prison term on that charge was 72 months (6 years), and 209 people received life. Most cases ended in a guilty plea (89%),
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 86,132 federal defendants had a most serious charge under 21 U.S.C. 846 when their cases ended, and 78,583 of them (91%) were convicted. The median prison term on that charge was 72 months (6 years), and 209 people received life. Most cases ended in a guilty plea (89%), 9% were dismissed, and 3% went to trial.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 86,132 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 Under Section 846
The U.S. Code heading for Title 21, section 846 is "Attempt and conspiracy". The figures here cover every defendant whose most serious charge at the close of the case was under this section.
Of the 78,583 people convicted, 75,178 (96%) were sentenced to a prison term on this charge. The median term, counting only those with a term of 1 month or more, was 72 months (6 years). The median is the middle term when all of the terms are lined up from shortest to longest.
209 defendants were sentenced to life on this charge.
Almost all of these charges were felonies: 85,987 (more than 99%). Class A misdemeanors accounted for 145 (less than 1%), and there were 0 petty offenses.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Trials
A guilty plea ended the case for 76,602 defendants (89%). Charges were dismissed for 7,324 (9%). Another 2,206 (3%) went to trial.
The Federal Judicial Center counts dismissals broadly. A dismissal can include charges the government asked the court to drop, for instance after the defendant pleaded guilty in a different case. So a dismissal in this data is not the same as a finding that the person did nothing wrong.
These counts include everyone whose case ended, not just those who reached sentencing. They follow the federal courts' Table D-4.
Acquittals at Trial
Of the 2,206 trials, 225 ended in an acquittal (10%).
Jury trials made up 2,091 of the trials, with 184 acquittals (9%). The other 115 were bench trials, decided by a judge without a jury, and 41 of those ended in an acquittal (36%).
The bench trial rate was higher than the jury trial rate. The bench group is much smaller, and the records do not say how cases came to be tried by a judge. The comparison describes the jury and bench groups, not the reasons behind them.
Who Represented These Defendants?
Type of counsel is recorded when the case ends. CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, handled 53,083 cases (62%). Private (retained) counsel handled 19,452 (23%). Federal public or community defenders handled 10,520 (12%). 59 defendants (less than 1%) represented themselves.
Plea and dismissal rates were close across the lawyer groups. Defenders' clients pleaded guilty 93% of the time, and the clients of CJA panel attorneys and retained counsel each pleaded guilty 92% of the time. Each group had a 5% dismissal rate.
At trial, defenders had 25 acquittals in 146 trials (17%). Retained counsel had 71 in 551 (13%). CJA panel attorneys had 129 in 1,504 (9%).
These figures describe groups of cases and say nothing about the quality of any lawyer. Defendants with hired lawyers and those with appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances. Self-represented defendants pleaded guilty 47% of the time and had 44% dismissed; 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 | 10,520 | 93% | 5% | 146 | 25 (17%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 53,083 | 92% | 5% | 1,504 | 129 (9%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 19,452 | 92% | 5% | 551 | 71 (13%) |
| Self-represented | 59 | 47% | 44% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
Year by Year
The number of cases ending each year was highest in fiscal year 2016, at 10,529, and lowest in fiscal year 2025, at 6,969. The guilty plea rate stayed between 88% and 90% in every year.
Trials per year ranged from 145 in fiscal year 2021 to 277 in fiscal year 2019. The acquittal rate at trial moved between 6% and 13% from year to year. A federal fiscal year begins on October 1.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10,529 | 89% | 9% | 269 | 31 (12%) |
| 2017 | 10,053 | 90% | 8% | 253 | 16 (6%) |
| 2018 | 9,051 | 89% | 8% | 266 | 28 (11%) |
| 2019 | 9,597 | 90% | 8% | 277 | 36 (13%) |
| 2020 | 7,553 | 89% | 8% | 205 | 12 (6%) |
| 2021 | 7,566 | 90% | 9% | 145 | 16 (11%) |
| 2022 | 8,857 | 89% | 9% | 220 | 26 (12%) |
| 2023 | 8,164 | 88% | 9% | 216 | 24 (11%) |
| 2024 | 7,793 | 89% | 9% | 191 | 19 (10%) |
| 2025 | 6,969 | 88% | 9% | 164 | 17 (10%) |
What the Data Cannot Show
Each defendant is counted under one charge: the most serious one left at the end of the case. Someone first charged under section 846 whose case ended on a different charge is not in this count.
The records do not include the evidence, plea terms, or anything about why a case ended as it did. They show how often each result happened, not what produced it.
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. 846, any subsection (86,132), 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. 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)
- 21 U.S.C. 848, Continuing criminal enterprise: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 21 U.S.C. 856, Maintaining drug-involved premises: 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.