21 U.S.C. 959, Possession, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substance: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 611 federal defendants had their cases end with 21 U.S.C. 959 as the most serious charge. Among the 493 convicted, the median prison term on that charge was 84 months (7 years), and 480 (97%) received a prison term. 480 (79%) pleaded guilty, 117 (19%) had their cases di
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 611 federal defendants had their cases end with 21 U.S.C. 959 as the most serious charge. Among the 493 convicted, the median prison term on that charge was 84 months (7 years), and 480 (97%) received a prison term. 480 (79%) pleaded guilty, 117 (19%) had their cases dismissed, and 14 (2%) went to trial.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 611 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 959
The median prison term for this group was 84 months (7 years). That figure counts the convicted defendants who received a term of 1 month or more on this charge.
Almost everyone convicted received prison time: 480 of the 493 (97%). 2 defendants were sentenced to life.
A median marks the middle term in the group, not an average. It also leaves out the convicted defendants who received no prison term on this charge.
What the Section Is Called
Title 21, section 959 of the U.S. Code is headed "Possession, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substance". The post uses that heading and adds nothing about the statute's contents.
Nearly all of these charges were felonies: 610 (more than 99%). 1 was a Class A misdemeanor (less than 1%), and none were petty offenses.
A Larger Share of Dismissals
Of the 611 defendants, 117 (19%) had their cases dismissed. Guilty pleas ended 480 cases (79%).
Dismissed means the charges were dropped. In these records that includes dismissals on the government's motion, such as after a guilty plea in another case. The data does not give the reason for any single dismissal.
The dismissal share changed from year to year. It was 8% in 2016, 32% in 2017, and 38% in 2022. These yearly groups range from 33 to 87 cases.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 62 | 90% | 8% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 38 | 61% | 32% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2018 | 59 | 90% | 10% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 61 | 89% | 7% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| 2020 | 57 | 93% | 7% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 33 | 76% | 21% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2022 | 79 | 62% | 38% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 57 | 79% | 18% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2024 | 78 | 71% | 28% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 87 | 77% | 20% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
Trials and Verdicts
Only 14 defendants went to trial. Of those, 1 ended in an acquittal (7%).
Juries heard 11 of the trials, with 1 acquittal (9%). Judges decided 3 bench trials, and none ended in an acquittal (0 of 3). With so few trials, these percentages rest on very small numbers.
Adding pleas and trial convictions, 493 of the 611 (81%) were convicted.
Counsel at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys represented 242 defendants (40%). They are private lawyers appointed by the court. Private (retained) counsel represented 213 (35%), and federal public or community defenders represented 62 (10%).
The plea rate was 93% for CJA panel attorneys, 92% for retained counsel, and 92% for defenders. Dismissals were 4%, 5%, and 5%.
Defenders had 2 trials, and 1 ended in an acquittal (1 of 2). CJA panel attorneys and retained counsel each had 6 trials, with 0 acquittals (0 of 6).
People who hire lawyers and people who receive appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances. These counts describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 62 | 92% | 5% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| CJA panel attorney | 242 | 93% | 4% | 6 | 0 (0 of 6) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 213 | 92% | 5% | 6 | 0 (0 of 6) |
What Cannot Be Read From This
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this statute, so no military comparison is made. The records give outcomes and prison terms, not the facts of a case or the reasons behind a result.
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. 959, any subsection (611), 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. 856, Maintaining drug-involved premises: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 21 U.S.C. 952, Importation of controlled substances: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 21 U.S.C. 963, Attempt and conspiracy: 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.