U.S. Sentencing Commission Facts

This U.S. Sentencing Commission summary also says a lot about the federal criminal justice system more generally, even though it is out of commission due to vacancies.

The Sourcebook presents information on the 57,287 federal offenders sentenced in FY21 (October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021)—a sentencing caseload that decreased by more than 7,000 from the previous fiscal year.

* Drug trafficking, immigration, firearms, and fraud crimes together comprised 83% of the federal sentencing caseload in FY21.

* Drug trafficking was the most common federal crime type sentenced, accounting for 31% of the caseload.

* Immigration cases accounted for the next largest group (30%) but decreased by more than one-third from the number of those cases in FY20.

* Methamphetamine continued to be the most common drug type in the federal system, and a steadily growing portion of the drug caseload (up from 31% of drug cases in FY16 to 48% in FY21).

* In FY21, Fentanyl moved into the top five drug types in the federal caseload. The Commission has added it to the Drug Offenses section of the Sourcebook. Methamphetamine trafficking continued to be the most severely punished federal drug crime (90 months).

* Two-thirds (67%) of drug offenders were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty, holding steady from the previous year.

* 69% of federal offenders were sentenced under the Guidelines Manual (either within range or outside the range for departure reasons in the manual).

* The Annual Report presents an overview of the Commission's work in FY21.

Beginning in FY21 and continuing into FY22, the Commission has operated with only one voting commissioner, lacking the quorum required to promulgate guideline amendments. The Commission’s other statutory duties are unaffected by the lack of four voting commissioners.