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# 7 U.S.C. 2024, Violations and enforcement: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-7-usc-2024-case-outcomes/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:55:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:55:47.000Z
- Description: Of 312 federal defendants whose most serious charge was under 7 U.S.C. 2024 and whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 277 (89%) pleaded guilty and 32 (10%) had their cases dismissed. Only 3 went to trial, and none of those trials ended in an acquittal. Among the 280 convicted, 162 (58%) re
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › 7 U.S.C. 2024

**In brief:** Of 312 federal defendants whose most serious charge was under 7 U.S.C. 2024 and whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 277 (89%) pleaded guilty and 32 (10%) had their cases dismissed. Only 3 went to trial, and none of those trials ended in an acquittal. Among the 280 convicted, 162 (58%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median term of 16 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 312 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/).

## What This Section Is and Who Was Counted

Title 7, section 2024 of the U.S. Code carries the heading "Violations and enforcement." This post reports how federal criminal cases under that section ended. It does not describe the conduct behind any case.

The count comes from the Federal Judicial Center. It includes every defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under this section. Each federal fiscal year begins in October.

Because the Federal Judicial Center data counts every case that ended, dismissals and acquittals are included, not only people who were sentenced.

## Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Guilty pleas resolved 277 of the 312 cases, or 89%. Another 32 defendants (10%) had their charges dismissed. A dismissal in these records can include a case the government dropped after the defendant pleaded guilty in a different case, so a dismissal does not always mean the person faced no charges anywhere.

Trials were uncommon. Just 3 defendants (less than 1%) went to trial, all before a jury. None of the 3 ended in an acquittal. With so few trials, the records cannot support any statement about how often trials under this section end in acquittal.

Counting pleas and trial verdicts together, 280 of the 312 defendants (90%) were convicted.

## Felony or Misdemeanor

The section was charged at more than one level. Felony charges accounted for 271 defendants (87%). Class A misdemeanor charges accounted for 41 (13%). No defendant in this group faced only a petty offense.

The level of the charge matters for reading the prison numbers below, since a misdemeanor carries a lower maximum term than a felony.

## Prison Terms on This Charge

Of the 280 people convicted, 162 (58%) received a prison term on this charge. The rest received a sentence without a prison term on this count.

Among those whose prison term was 1 month or more, the median term was 16 months. The median is the middle value when those terms are put in order. It says nothing about the shortest or longest terms.

## Type of Counsel at the End of the Case

Private (retained) counsel represented the largest group, 150 defendants (48%). CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed and paid by the court, represented 108 (35%). Federal public or community defenders represented 42 (13%).

Guilty plea rates were 94% with private counsel, 93% with CJA panel attorneys, and 86% with federal defenders. Dismissal rates were 5%, 7%, and 12%, in the same order. Of the 3 trials, 2 involved private counsel and 1 involved a federal defender.

These figures 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, and counsel type is recorded only at the end of the case.

| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Federal public or community defender   | 42         | 86%            | 12%       | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |
| CJA panel attorney                     | 108        | 93%            | 7%        | 0      | 0                  |
| Private (retained) counsel             | 150        | 94%            | 5%        | 2      | 0 (0 of 2)         |

## How the Yearly Counts Changed

The number of cases ending each year varied. The highest count was 75 in fiscal year 2017\. The lowest was 8 in fiscal year 2024, when 7 of 8 pleaded guilty and 1 of 8 was dismissed.

In years with small counts, a single case moves the percentages a great deal. The yearly table shows each year's results and should be read with that in mind.

| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| 2016        | 56          | 89%            | 11%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2017        | 75          | 93%            | 5%        | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |
| 2018        | 34          | 88%            | 12%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2019        | 43          | 84%            | 14%       | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |
| 2020        | 18          | 89%            | 6%        | 1      | 0 (0 of 1)         |
| 2021        | 20          | 80%            | 20%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2022        | 23          | 96%            | 4%        | 0      | 0                  |
| 2023        | 25          | 84%            | 16%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2024        | 8           | 7 of 8         | 1 of 8    | 0      | 0                  |
| 2025        | 10          | 90%            | 10%       | 0      | 0                  |

## Limits of These Records

The records count cases by the most serious charge at the end, so a case that began under another section and ended under this one is included, and the reverse case is not. They do not show the facts of any case, the evidence, or why a case was dismissed. No close court-martial counterpart exists in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports federal numbers only.

### 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 7 U.S.C. 2024, any subsection (312), 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)
- [7 U.S.C. 2156, Animal fighting venture prohibition: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-7-usc-2156-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.