Federal Bench Trials vs. Air Force Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates
In Air Force contested courts-martial decided by a military judge alone, 70 of 163 ended in a full acquittal (43%), with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. In federal bench trials over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 696 of 2,234 ended in an acquittal (31%). The Air Force rate was higher than the federal rat
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In brief: In Air Force contested courts-martial decided by a military judge alone, 70 of 163 ended in a full acquittal (43%), with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. In federal bench trials over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 696 of 2,234 ended in an acquittal (31%). The Air Force rate was higher than the federal rate, and the Air Force judge-alone group is a small share of that service's contested cases.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 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.
What Share of Air Force Contested Cases Were Judge-Alone?
The Air Force records list 1,234 contested courts-martial that reached a verdict. A military judge alone decided 163 of them (13%).
A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, which includes a mixed plea. In the Air Force, the accused chooses between a military judge alone and members.
In federal court, bench trials were 13% of all trials in the group, the same share as the Air Force judge-alone cases among contested courts-martial.
Acquittals by Air Force Judges
Of the 163 judge-alone cases, 70 ended in a full acquittal (43%). Another 33 (20%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning the judge found the accused not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.
Federal case data does not report partial acquittals separately. The 43% therefore covers only the cases in which the accused was acquitted of every charge.
Acquittals by Federal Judges
The Federal Judicial Center counted 2,234 bench trials among defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 696 ended in an acquittal (31%). The same data counted 14,615 jury trials, of which 13% ended in an acquittal.
A federal bench trial requires the defendant's waiver of a jury, the government's consent, and the court's approval. The government can therefore refuse a bench trial. In a court-martial, that choice belongs to the accused.
Results Over the Years
The Air Force records show no judge-alone cases from 2016 to 2018 and 2 in 2019, none of which ended in a full acquittal. From 2020 forward, the yearly count ranged from 15 to 40 cases.
The Air Force full acquittal share in these cases was 9 of 21 in 2020 and 17 of 40 in 2022. It was 8 of 15 in 2025. Federal bench trials had between 55 and 83 acquittals a year in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, out of 163 to 261 trials.
| Year | Air Force judge alone: full acquittals | Federal bench trials: acquittals |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 of 0 | 66 of 226 |
| 2017 | 0 of 0 | 80 of 258 |
| 2018 | 0 of 0 | 83 of 218 |
| 2019 | 0 of 2 | 80 of 261 |
| 2020 | 9 of 21 | 75 of 207 |
| 2021 | 14 of 35 | 55 of 163 |
| 2022 | 17 of 40 | 60 of 194 |
| 2023 | 13 of 30 | 79 of 244 |
| 2024 | 9 of 20 | 61 of 232 |
| 2025 | 8 of 15 | 57 of 231 |
How to Read the Difference
The Air Force figure is a share of a small group, and each case moves it noticeably. The federal figure rests on 2,234 trials.
The Air Force number counts full acquittals only, while the federal number counts every acquittal. Even so, the Air Force share was the higher one. Federal bench trials also include a very wide range of offenses, and the Air Force cases include only offenses prosecuted under the UCMJ.
Fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30 in the federal data. The court-martial cases are grouped by trial date.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show why a judge acquitted, what evidence was offered, or which offenses were charged in each case. They also do not show why the accused in a given case chose a judge alone, or why the government agreed to a federal bench trial.
The comparison reports how often judges acquitted in each system. It does not show that judges in one system decide cases more carefully than in the other.
How We Counted
Air Force: contested courts-martial with a verdict decided by a military judge alone, trial dates 2016 to 2025 (163). Federal: bench trials among defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (2,234, Federal Judicial Center).
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.
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.
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)
- Jury or Judge: Federal Bench and Jury Trials vs. Military Judge Alone and Members (overview)
- Federal Bench Trials vs. Army Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates
- Forum Selection (law firm reference page)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- 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.