Aggravated Assault Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
From 2016 to 2025, 0 of 41 contested aggravated assault courts-martial in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Another 22 (54%) were partial acquittals. In federal court over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 84 of 229 trials ended in an acquittal (37%). The co
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Aggravated Assault › Aggravated Assault: Acquittals
In brief: From 2016 to 2025, 0 of 41 contested aggravated assault courts-martial in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Another 22 (54%) were partial acquittals. In federal court over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 84 of 229 trials ended in an acquittal (37%). The counts do not measure the same thing.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 5,508 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Full and Partial Acquittals in Courts-Martial
A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The records list 41 contested Article 128 cases in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps that reached a verdict, with trial dates from 2016 to 2025.
None of the 41 ended in a full acquittal. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. That happened in 22 cases (54%).
Federal Trials in Assault Cases
The Federal Judicial Center counted 5,508 defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 113, which covers assaults within federal jurisdiction. Their cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Of those, 3,910 (71%) pleaded guilty, 1,369 (25%) had their cases dismissed, and 229 (4%) went to trial. In all, 4,055 (74%) were convicted, by plea or at trial.
Of the 229 trials, 84 ended in an acquittal (37%). Jury trials numbered 177, with 62 acquittals (35%). Bench trials, decided by a judge, numbered 52, with 22 acquittals (42%).
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 579 | 71% | 26% | 19 | 8 (42%) |
| 2017 | 591 | 72% | 24% | 23 | 9 (39%) |
| 2018 | 590 | 68% | 27% | 29 | 14 (48%) |
| 2019 | 635 | 66% | 29% | 33 | 8 (24%) |
| 2020 | 468 | 70% | 26% | 19 | 8 (42%) |
| 2021 | 547 | 71% | 26% | 15 | 6 (40%) |
| 2022 | 564 | 70% | 27% | 19 | 7 (37%) |
| 2023 | 495 | 74% | 22% | 22 | 7 (32%) |
| 2024 | 527 | 74% | 21% | 23 | 8 (35%) |
| 2025 | 512 | 75% | 19% | 27 | 9 (33%) |
Why These Rates Are Not the Same Measure
The court-martial count is limited to contested cases that reached a verdict. The federal count is limited to trials. Both leave out guilty pleas, but federal data also has dismissals, which are not counted as trials.
Section 113 covers assaults of several kinds, and the court-martial count is for Article 128 cases charging aggravated assault. The offenses are not identical. Federal case data does not report partial acquittals separately, so a federal acquittal means the whole case.
A federal felony needs a grand jury indictment. A court-martial has no grand jury, and an Article 32 hearing officer's conclusions are recommendations. The systems screen cases differently before trial.
Who Decided Guilt in the Court-Martial Cases
Of the 41 cases, 21 were decided by a judge alone, with 0 full acquittals. Members decided 12, with 0 full acquittals. Another 12 are listed under enlisted members, with 0 full acquittals. The forum is not listed for 8 cases, and 0 of those ended in a full acquittal.
The forum groups are small, and the records for some services do not show who decided guilt.
Year by Year
The table below sets contested court-martial verdicts beside federal trials for each year. The court-martial counts are 10 or fewer in every year, and 0 of 1 in 2016 and 2020.
The federal acquittal counts range by year from 6 to 14. These year counts are small, and one case can move a year.
| Year | Courts-martial: full acquittals of contested cases | Federal: acquittals of trials |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 of 1 | 8 of 19 |
| 2017 | 0 of 0 | 9 of 23 |
| 2018 | 0 of 0 | 14 of 29 |
| 2019 | 0 of 0 | 8 of 33 |
| 2020 | 0 of 1 | 8 of 19 |
| 2021 | 0 of 10 | 6 of 15 |
| 2022 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 19 |
| 2023 | 0 of 7 | 7 of 22 |
| 2024 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 23 |
| 2025 | 0 of 6 | 9 of 27 |
What Air Force Cases Add and Leave Out
Air Force cases are left out of this comparison. Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals, so the acquittals for this offense cannot be counted reliably.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records cannot show why no contested court-martial in this group ended in a full acquittal. They also cannot show how many of the federal acquittals were full acquittals of every charge.
This comparison is a count of outcomes in different systems, not a measure of how fair either one is.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charging aggravated assault (Article 128) with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 that were contested and reached a verdict (41). Federal: defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 113 (assaults within federal jurisdiction) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (5,508; 229 trials), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4.
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.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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.
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)
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Aggravated Assault Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Aggravated Assault Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Aggravated Assault Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Aggravated Assault Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial
- Guilty Pleas in Aggravated Assault Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
- Aggravated Assault Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 128 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 128 Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Assault (court-martial data)
- Fewer or More? Assault Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Assault Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 128 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Assault Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 128 UCMJ: Assault, Aggravated Assault, and Strangulation (law firm reference page)
- Forum Selection (law firm reference page)
- 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.