> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Bench Trials vs. Army Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-bench-trials-vs-army-judge-alone/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:32.000Z - Description: Army military judges sitting alone fully acquitted 70 of 282 contested courts-martial from 2016 to 2025 (25%). Federal judges acquitted 696 of 2,234 bench trials in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (31%). The federal rate was higher, but the numbers count different kinds of cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Jury or Judge](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-jury-bench-trials-vs-court-martial-forum/) › Bench vs. Army Judge Alone **In brief:** Army military judges sitting alone fully acquitted 70 of 282 contested courts-martial from 2016 to 2025 (25%). Federal judges acquitted 696 of 2,234 bench trials in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (31%). The federal rate was higher, but the numbers count different kinds of cases. Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 · Military Trial Results 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## How Often Did Army Judges Acquit? The Army records show 282 contested courts-martial that a military judge decided alone, with trial dates from 2016 to 2025\. A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of those 282 cases, 70 ended in a full acquittal (25%). Another 138 (49%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning the judge found the accused not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another. The partial acquittals are a large part of the judge-alone cases. Federal case data does not report them separately, so no federal number is available for that group. ## How Often Did Federal Judges Acquit in Bench Trials? The Federal Judicial Center counted 2,234 bench trials among defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. In a bench trial, a judge decides guilt. Judges acquitted in 696 of them (31%). Federal jury trials were far more numerous, at 14,615, and 13% of them ended in an acquittal. Bench trials were 13% of the federal trials in the group. ## Who Chooses a Bench Trial? In federal court, a bench trial needs the defendant's waiver of a jury, the government's consent, and the court's approval. The prosecution therefore has a say in whether a judge decides the case. In a court-martial, the accused chooses between a military judge alone and members. In the Army, 282 of 724 contested cases that reached a verdict (39%) were decided by a judge alone. This difference affects which cases end up in each group. The records cannot show how it affects the acquittal rate. ## Year-by-Year Results The Army column shows no judge-alone cases from 2016 through 2019 and only 1 in 2020\. The records show no judge-alone cases in those years. From 2021 forward, the Army column has 23 to 76 cases a year. Army full acquittals in judge-alone cases were 16 of 76 in 2021, 18 of 75 in 2022, 21 of 58 in 2023, 10 of 49 in 2024, and 4 of 23 in 2025\. Federal bench trial acquittals ranged from 55 to 83 a year, out of 163 to 261 trials. | Year | Army 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 0 | 80 of 261 | | 2020 | 1 of 1 | 75 of 207 | | 2021 | 16 of 76 | 55 of 163 | | 2022 | 18 of 75 | 60 of 194 | | 2023 | 21 of 58 | 79 of 244 | | 2024 | 10 of 49 | 61 of 232 | | 2025 | 4 of 23 | 57 of 231 | ## Reading the Comparison The Army rate of 25% is lower than the federal bench trial rate of 31%. The Army count is full acquittals only. The federal count is every acquittal, and federal data does not separate full and partial acquittals. If partial acquittals were added to the Army number, the Army total would be different, but the federal data offers no matching figure. The rates are therefore not a like-for-like pair. ## What the Records Cannot Show The records do not show the offenses in each group of cases, the strength of the evidence, or why a judge acquitted. Federal bench trials cover many kinds of offenses, and the Army cases cover offenses under the UCMJ. A difference in rates may reflect a difference in the cases and not in the judges. Federal years are fiscal years, and court-martial cases are counted by trial date. ### How We Counted Army: contested courts-martial with a verdict decided by a military judge alone, trial dates 2016 to 2025 (282). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Jury or Judge: Federal Bench and Jury Trials vs. Military Judge Alone and Members](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-jury-bench-trials-vs-court-martial-forum/) (overview) - [Federal Bench Trials vs. Air Force Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-bench-trials-vs-air-force-judge-alone/) - [Forum Selection](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/forum-selection/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.