Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Army Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
Of 2,493 Army courts-martial with a trial date from 2016 to 2025 and a plea on record, 1,730 (69%) ended in a guilty plea. In federal court, 642,522 of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (97%) pleaded guilty. The Army rate is lower than the federal rate, and it was 80% in 2025 for
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In brief: Of 2,493 Army courts-martial with a trial date from 2016 to 2025 and a plea on record, 1,730 (69%) ended in a guilty plea. In federal court, 642,522 of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (97%) pleaded guilty. The Army rate is lower than the federal rate, and it was 80% in 2025 for the Army cases with a plea on record.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and 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). 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.
How Many Army Courts-Martial Ended in a Guilty Plea?
The Army data covers 2,493 courts-martial with a recorded plea. Of these, 1,730 (69%) were guilty pleas, 42 (2%) were mixed pleas, and 721 (29%) were not-guilty pleas. Another 12 Army cases have no plea recorded, and they are left out of those percentages.
A mixed plea means the accused pleaded guilty to some charges and not guilty to others. A court-martial is called contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, so mixed pleas and not-guilty pleas are both contested cases.
Did the Army Rate Change From Year to Year?
The Army rate by trial year is in the table below. The table shows no Army records for 2016 through 2019, so the Army figures cover 2020 to 2025 only.
In 2020, 46 of 76 Army cases (61%) were guilty pleas. In 2021 and 2022 the figure was 64% each year. It was 69% in 2023, 73% in 2024, and 80% in 2025.
The 2020 figure rests on only 76 cases, so it is the least stable number in the series. The records do not show why the share of guilty pleas changed from one year to the next.
| Year | Army: guilty pleas | Federal sentenced: pleaded guilty | Federal cases ended: pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | no records | 97% | 89% |
| 2017 | no records | 97% | 90% |
| 2018 | no records | 97% | 90% |
| 2019 | no records | 98% | 90% |
| 2020 | 46 of 76 (61%) | 98% | 91% |
| 2021 | 343 of 535 (64%) | 98% | 90% |
| 2022 | 316 of 491 (64%) | 97% | 89% |
| 2023 | 322 of 469 (69%) | 97% | 89% |
| 2024 | 350 of 478 (73%) | 97% | 91% |
| 2025 | 353 of 444 (80%) | 98% | 92% |
How Often Did Army Guilty Pleas Include a Plea Agreement?
A plea agreement is a written deal between the accused and the convening authority. The record shows whether there was one for 1,577 Army guilty pleas, and all 1,577 (100%) had one.
The federal figure is lower. Of the people sentenced in federal court who pleaded guilty, 74% had a written plea agreement.
What Do the Federal Numbers Count?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in that group, so a 97% guilty plea rate describes sentenced people and not every person charged.
The Federal Judicial Center counts every defendant whose case ended in the federal courts, including dismissals and acquittals. It recorded 753,808 defendants in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 678,652 (90%) pleaded guilty, 58,307 (8%) had their cases dismissed, and 16,849 (2%) went to trial.
The Army rate is closer in design to the second count, because the Army figure also includes cases that end in a not-guilty plea and a verdict. It is still not the same count, since the federal count includes dismissals before trial.
What These Rates Can and Cannot Compare
Both rates measure how often a case ended with the accused admitting guilt. They are measured on different groups, over fiscal years for federal court and by trial date for the Army.
The federal courts also screen cases through grand jury indictments, and prosecutors choose which cases to bring. A court-martial has no grand jury. The records do not show whether these differences affect how often an accused pleads guilty.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show why an accused chose to plead guilty or to contest the charges. They do not show which offenses were charged, and the guilty plea rate can differ by offense.
The 12 cases with no plea recorded and the missing 2016 to 2019 years limit how far the Army figures can be generalized. This post does not recommend any course of action.
How We Counted
Army: courts-martial with a trial date in 2016 to 2025 and a plea recorded (2,493). Federal: 659,036 people sentenced (U.S. Sentencing Commission) and 753,808 defendants whose cases ended (Federal Judicial Center), fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
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.
Plea agreements work differently. In federal court, most plea agreements do not bind the judge on the sentence. Since 2019, a military plea agreement can set a minimum and maximum sentence that the military judge must follow if the judge accepts the agreement. The federal numbers count anyone who pleaded guilty, with or without a written agreement.
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)
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year (overview)
- Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Army 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.