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# 42 U.S.C. 7413, Federal enforcement: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-42-usc-7413-case-outcomes/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:56:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:56:05.000Z
- Description: Of the 5 federal trials in which 42 U.S.C. 7413 was the most serious charge in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3 ended in an acquittal, all of them bench trials. Most of the 138 defendants, 123 (89%), pleaded guilty. Of the 125 convicted, 25 (20%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 6
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › 42 U.S.C. 7413

**In brief:** Of the 5 federal trials in which 42 U.S.C. 7413 was the most serious charge in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3 ended in an acquittal, all of them bench trials. Most of the 138 defendants, 123 (89%), pleaded guilty. Of the 125 convicted, 25 (20%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 6 months.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 138 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Acquittals Came From Bench Trials

A trial was held for 5 defendants (4%). Judges decided 3 of those trials without a jury and acquitted in all 3 (3 of 3). Juries decided 2 and acquitted in 0 of 2.

All 3 acquittals were recorded in fiscal year 2022, the only year with more than 1 trial. A total of 5 trials is too few to support a rate, so these results are counts, not a measure of how trials under this section usually end.

## Section 7413 in Federal Court

Title 42, section 7413 of the U.S. Code is headed "Federal enforcement." The post reports only how federal criminal cases under that section ended.

The Federal Judicial Center data lists 138 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under this section. Cases are counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4, which takes in every ended case, including dismissals and acquittals.

## Most Cases Ended in a Plea

Guilty pleas resolved 123 cases (89%). Dismissal ended 10 (7%). A dismissal can include a charge dropped on the government's motion after a guilty plea in another case.

Through a plea or a verdict, 125 of the 138 defendants (91%) were convicted.

## Charge Level and Prison Terms

Felonies made up 112 of the charges (81%), and Class A misdemeanors made up 26 (19%). No petty offenses were recorded.

A prison term on this charge was ordered for 25 of the 125 people convicted (20%). Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 6 months. The median marks the middle term and does not describe the spread.

## Lawyers at the Close of the Case

Private (retained) counsel appeared for 108 defendants (78%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers named by the court, appeared for 15 (11%). Federal public or community defenders appeared for 14 (10%).

With retained counsel, 90% pleaded guilty and 6% had their charges dismissed. Pleas were 93% with federal defenders and 87% with CJA panel attorneys. Dismissals were 7% and 13% in those groups.

All 5 trials, and all 3 acquittals, were in the retained counsel group. The appointed groups had no trials.

That does not mean retained lawyers did better. The numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers, and people who hire counsel may face different charges and circumstances than people with appointed counsel.

| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Federal public or community defender   | 14         | 93%            | 7%        | 0      | 0                  |
| CJA panel attorney                     | 15         | 87%            | 13%       | 0      | 0                  |
| Private (retained) counsel             | 108        | 90%            | 6%        | 5      | 3 (3 of 5)         |

## Cases Across the Fiscal Years

The number of cases ending each year ranged from 7 in fiscal year 2019 to 27 in fiscal year 2017\. Fiscal year 2025 had 24 cases, with 96% ending in a guilty plea.

Guilty pleas ended 100% of cases in fiscal years 2023 and 2024\. Yearly counts this small are not trends.

| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| 2016        | 15          | 87%            | 13%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2017        | 27          | 89%            | 11%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2018        | 9           | 8 of 9         | 1 of 9    | 0      | 0                  |
| 2019        | 7           | 5 of 7         | 2 of 7    | 0      | 0                  |
| 2020        | 9           | 7 of 9         | 1 of 9    | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |
| 2021        | 9           | 8 of 9         | 1 of 9    | 0      | 0                  |
| 2022        | 14          | 79%            | 0%        | 3      | 3 (3 of 3)         |
| 2023        | 11          | 100%           | 0%        | 0      | 0                  |
| 2024        | 13          | 100%           | 0%        | 0      | 0                  |
| 2025        | 24          | 96%            | 0%        | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |

## Limits

The data shows how cases ended, not why. It has no case facts and no reasons for dismissals or verdicts. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal numbers are reported.

### 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. 7413, any subsection (138), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [42 U.S.C. 1383, Procedure for payment of benefits: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-42-usc-1383-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [42 U.S.C. 6928, Federal enforcement: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-42-usc-6928-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-appointed-vs-retained-counsel-outcomes/)
- [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.