Aggravated Assault Sentences in 2017: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
For trial dates in 2017, the court-martial records show 11 convictions for aggravated assault (Article 128), with a median confinement of 17.7 months. Federal court sentenced 383 people under guideline §2A2.2 in fiscal year 2017, and the median prison term was 37 months. The military median was lowe
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In brief: For trial dates in 2017, the court-martial records show 11 convictions for aggravated assault (Article 128), with a median confinement of 17.7 months. Federal court sentenced 383 people under guideline §2A2.2 in fiscal year 2017, and the median prison term was 37 months. The military median was lower, but it rests on a very small number of cases.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 383 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended 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.
Median Sentences for 2017
The median is the sentence in the middle of the list when all sentences are ranked by length.
At courts-martial in 2017, the median adjudged confinement was 17.7 months. In federal court, the median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years) among those sent to prison.
The top quarter was closer together. A quarter of the court-martial sentences were 60 months or more. A quarter of the federal prison terms were also 60 months or more, and a quarter were 24 months or less.
| Courts-martial, 2017 | Federal court, FY2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 11 | 383 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 82% | 96% |
| Median confinement or prison | 17.7 months | 37 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 60 months | 60 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 1 of 5 with a plea recorded (1 of 5) | 96% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 19 of 375 with the information (5%) |
Who Was Convicted at Courts-Martial
The 11 convictions came from 2 services: the Air Force with 9 and the Marine Corps with 2. Army records in this data start in 2020, so 2017 has no Army cases.
Of the 11 people convicted, 8 were enlisted and 3 were officers. All 8 enlisted members received a punitive discharge (8 of 8): 4 dishonorable discharges and 4 bad-conduct discharges. Of the 3 officers, 1 was dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge.
9 of the 11 convictions with a sentence recorded (82%) included confinement. 10 of the 11 (91%) were at a general court-martial, the level that handles the most serious charges.
Pleas, Trials, and Prison Terms in Federal Court
In fiscal year 2017, 368 of 383 people (96%) pleaded guilty. The other 15 were convicted after a trial.
Those convicted at trial received longer prison terms. The median was 87 months after a trial, compared with 37 months after a guilty plea.
Most guilty pleas came with a deal. 91% had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Court-Martial Pleas in 2017
A plea was recorded for 5 of the 11 court-martial convictions, and 1 of those 5 was a guilty plea. That 1 case had confinement of 60 months.
The contested cases that ended in conviction had a median confinement of 3.4 months, based on 2 cases with confinement. Counts this small cannot support any general statement about guilty pleas and sentences.
Federal Guideline Range and Other Penalties
For 383 federal cases with the information, 42% of sentences (162) fell within the guideline range. 23% (88) were below the range at the government's request, 22% (85) were below it without such a request, and 13% (48) were above it.
367 of the 383 (96%) received a prison term, and 13 (3%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 19 (5%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 355 (93%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 20 (5%) and restitution for 104 (27%).
46% of those sentenced were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 15% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records do not include criminal history.
How 2017 Fits With the Full Period
Over all years, the court-martial records list 214 convictions from 2016 to 2025, with a median confinement of 11.3 months. Federal court sentenced 4,493 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 40 months. The federal year-by-year counts appear below.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 365 | 36.9 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 383 | 37 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 398 | 39.5 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 413 | 40 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 341 | 40 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 406 | 37 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 524 | 41 months | 94% |
| 2023 | 525 | 43 months | 93% |
| 2024 | 583 | 40 months | 91% |
| 2025 | 555 | 41 months | 91% |
Limits of the Comparison
The military count uses calendar year 2017 by trial date. Federal fiscal year 2017 covered October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.
Court-martial sentences are the sentences adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are as imposed, not the time actually served. Neither record shows the facts of the assaults or how each case was charged.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2017 ending in a conviction for aggravated assault (Article 128) (11). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under guideline §2A2.2 (aggravated assault) (383), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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.
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
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 in 2016: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Aggravated Assault Sentences in 2018: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Aggravated Assault Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Aggravated Assault: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
- Aggravated Assault: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
- 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)
- 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.