Jury or Judge: Federal Bench and Jury Trials vs. Military Judge Alone and Members
In federal court from fiscal year 2016 to 2025, 13% of jury trials ended in an acquittal (1,838 of 14,615), compared with 31% of bench trials (696 of 2,234). In contested Army and Air Force courts-martial that reached a verdict, 31% of cases decided by a military judge alone ended in a full acquitta
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In brief: In federal court from fiscal year 2016 to 2025, 13% of jury trials ended in an acquittal (1,838 of 14,615), compared with 31% of bench trials (696 of 2,234). In contested Army and Air Force courts-martial that reached a verdict, 31% of cases decided by a military judge alone ended in a full acquittal (140 of 445), compared with 43% of cases decided by members (646 of 1,492).
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.
Who Decides Guilt in Each System?
A federal defendant who goes to trial can have a jury or a judge decide guilt. A federal jury verdict must be unanimous. The Federal Judicial Center calls a trial decided by a judge a bench trial.
A court-martial accused chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. In a non-capital court-martial, three-fourths of the members can convict. The members may be enlisted or officers, and the records separate these kinds of panel.
This post compares the decision-makers in each system. It does not rank them, and the cases in each group were not chosen at random.
Federal Jury Trials and Bench Trials
The Federal Judicial Center counted 753,808 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 16,849 who went to trial, 2,534 were acquitted (15%).
Jury trials numbered 14,615 and ended in 1,838 acquittals (13%). Bench trials numbered 2,234 and ended in 696 acquittals (31%). Acquittals were more common in bench trials than in jury trials.
The pattern held in each fiscal year in the table. In 2016, juries acquitted in 225 of 1,627 trials, and judges acquitted in 66 of 226. In 2025, juries acquitted in 135 of 1,324 trials, and judges acquitted in 57 of 231.
| Year | Federal jury trials: acquittals | Federal bench trials: acquittals |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 225 of 1,627 | 66 of 226 |
| 2017 | 196 of 1,616 | 80 of 258 |
| 2018 | 237 of 1,661 | 83 of 218 |
| 2019 | 207 of 1,689 | 80 of 261 |
| 2020 | 124 of 1,218 | 75 of 207 |
| 2021 | 141 of 918 | 55 of 163 |
| 2022 | 230 of 1,475 | 60 of 194 |
| 2023 | 184 of 1,596 | 79 of 244 |
| 2024 | 159 of 1,491 | 61 of 232 |
| 2025 | 135 of 1,324 | 57 of 231 |
Courts-Martial: Military Judge or Members
For the Army and the Air Force, 1,958 contested courts-martial reached a verdict from 2016 to 2025. A contested case is one in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Of these, 807 ended in a full acquittal (41%).
Another 447 (23%) were partial acquittals. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Federal case data does not report partial acquittals separately, so the federal figures cannot be compared on that point.
By forum, a military judge alone decided 445 cases, and 140 ended in a full acquittal (31%). Members decided 1,492 cases, and 646 ended in a full acquittal (43%).
Enlisted Members and Officer Members
Members cases split by rank of the panel. Enlisted members decided 912 cases, and 473 ended in a full acquittal (52%). Officer members decided 580 cases, and 173 ended in a full acquittal (30%).
The full acquittal rate was higher for enlisted members than for officer members. It was about the same for officer members as for a military judge alone, at 30% and 31%.
The records do not show why an accused chose one forum, or what the charges were in each group. An accused who expects a certain kind of panel may choose differently, so the groups may not be alike.
Cases With No Forum Listed
In the Army and Air Force records, 21 cases did not list who decided guilt. All 21 ended in a full acquittal (100%). The records do not explain this, and the 21 cases are not used to describe either forum.
The Navy and the Marine Corps have a larger gap. Of 912 contested cases with a verdict, 447 do not list who decided guilt. For that reason, this post reports the forum comparison only for the Army and the Air Force.
What the Comparison Can and Cannot Show
The sides count different things. The court-martial figures are full acquittals among contested cases that reached a verdict. The federal figures are acquittals among trials,, and they cover all offenses.
Federal prosecutors also bring a narrower set of cases than the military does. Federal juries are not divided into enlisted and officer panels, so that comparison has no federal counterpart.
The records cannot show whether the forum itself changed an outcome. They show how cases ended in each forum, and they cannot separate the effect of the decision-maker from differences in the cases.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: contested Army and Air Force cases with a verdict, trial dates 2016 to 2025, by who decided guilt. Federal: trials among 753,808 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (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)
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
- Federal Juries vs. Army Court-Martial Members: How Often Each Acquits
- Federal Bench Trials vs. Army Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates
- Federal Juries vs. Air Force Court-Martial Members: How Often Each Acquits
- Federal Bench Trials vs. Air Force Judge-Alone Courts-Martial: Acquittal Rates
- 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.