Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022
In 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted.
Associate Director, Short Reads
John Gramlich is an associate director at Pew Research Center, where he
oversees the organization’s data journalism blog. His research and writing focuses on criminal justice, legal affairs, immigration and other issues. Before joining the Center, he was a researcher at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where he focused on the U.S. correctional system. Earlier in his career, he was a journalist at news organizations including CQ Roll Call, Stateline.org and The Baltimore Sun, covering criminal justice and other subjects. He has a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Pennsylvania State University.
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