42 U.S.C. 6928, Federal enforcement: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most of the 66 federal defendants charged under 42 U.S.C. 6928 pleaded guilty: 55 (83%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Nearly all charges were felonies, 65 (98%). Of the 56 convicted, 20 (36%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 21 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 42 U.S.C. 6928
In brief: Most of the 66 federal defendants charged under 42 U.S.C. 6928 pleaded guilty: 55 (83%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Nearly all charges were felonies, 65 (98%). Of the 56 convicted, 20 (36%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 21 months.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 66 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.
Retained Lawyers Represented Most Defendants
Private (retained) counsel was recorded for 35 defendants (53%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, were recorded for 15 (23%). Federal public or community defenders were recorded for 12 (18%).
In the retained group, 91% pleaded guilty and 6% had the charges dismissed. Among federal defender clients, 92% pleaded guilty and 0% were dismissed. In the CJA panel group, 80% pleaded guilty and 20% were dismissed.
Each of these groups is small, so a few cases can move its percentages. The numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants who hire counsel and those who are appointed counsel can 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 | 12 | 92% | 0% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| CJA panel attorney | 15 | 80% | 20% | 0 | 0 |
| Private (retained) counsel | 35 | 91% | 6% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
Where the Count Comes From
Title 42, section 6928 of the U.S. Code is headed "Federal enforcement." This post looks only at federal criminal cases with that section as the most serious charge at the end of the case.
The Federal Judicial Center records list 66 such defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Every case that ended is included, not only cases that reached sentencing.
Pleas, Dismissals, and Convictions
After the 55 guilty pleas (83%), the next most common ending was dismissal, for 9 defendants (14%). In this data, a dismissal can be a charge the government dropped, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty elsewhere.
Conviction by plea or verdict was recorded for 56 of the 66 defendants (85%).
Only 2 Trials
Trials were held for 2 defendants (3%), and both were jury trials. The jury acquitted in 1 of 2. There were 0 bench trials.
The acquittal came in the retained counsel group, and the other trial was in the federal defender group. A total of 2 trials is too few to support any rate.
How Often Did a Conviction Bring Prison?
Of the 56 people convicted, 20 (36%) received a prison term on this charge. The median among terms of 1 month or more was 21 months.
The median comes from 20 terms. It shows the middle term only, not how widely the terms varied. Just 1 charge (2%) was a Class A misdemeanor rather than a felony.
Year by Year
Between 2 and 10 cases ended in each fiscal year. Fiscal years 2019 and 2022 each had 10. Fiscal year 2018 had 3 dismissals among 9 cases, and fiscal year 2017 had 2 among 4.
With counts this low, the yearly table shows individual cases more than patterns.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 6 of 8 | 1 of 8 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 4 | 2 of 4 | 2 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 9 | 6 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 90% | 10% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 9 | 9 of 9 | 0 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 of 2 | 0 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 10 | 90% | 0% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2023 | 6 | 4 of 6 | 2 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 of 2 | 0 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 | 6 of 6 | 0 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
What These Numbers Cannot Show
The records give no facts of any case and no reasons for pleas, dismissals, or verdicts. No close court-martial counterpart is listed in the approved crosswalk, so there is no military comparison.
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 42 U.S.C. 6928, any subsection (66), 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)
- 42 U.S.C. 408, Penalties: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 42 U.S.C. 1383, Procedure for payment of benefits: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 42 U.S.C. 7413, Federal enforcement: 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.