Federal Juries vs. Air Force Court-Martial Members: How Often Each Acquits
Enlisted members in the Air Force fully acquitted in 309 of 561 contested cases (55%), and officer members only fully acquitted in 151 of 510 (30%), with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. All members together fully acquitted in 460 of 1,071 cases (43%). Federal juries acquitted in 1,838 of 14,615 trial
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In brief: Enlisted members in the Air Force fully acquitted in 309 of 561 contested cases (55%), and officer members only fully acquitted in 151 of 510 (30%), with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. All members together fully acquitted in 460 of 1,071 cases (43%). Federal juries acquitted in 1,838 of 14,615 trials in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (13%).
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.
Did Enlisted and Officer Members Acquit at Different Rates?
The Air Force records list 1,071 contested courts-martial decided by members. A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Members fully acquitted in 460 of these cases (43%).
The rate depended on who sat on the panel. Enlisted members decided 561 cases and fully acquitted in 309 (55%). Officer members only decided 510 cases and fully acquitted in 151 (30%).
Both groups are large, so the difference is not the result of a few cases. The records do not show what led to it, and nothing in them identifies a cause.
| Decided by | Cases | Full acquittals | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enlisted members | 561 | 309 | 55% |
| Officer members | 510 | 151 | 30% |
| Military judge alone | 163 | 70 | 43% |
| Federal jury | 14,615 | 1,838 | 13% |
| Federal judge (bench trial) | 2,234 | 696 | 31% |
How Common Were Partial Acquittals?
Members returned a partial acquittal in 115 Air Force cases (11%). In a partial acquittal, the members found the accused not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.
The 43% rate counts full acquittals only and does not include the 115 partial acquittals. Partial acquittals were less common than full acquittals in the cases decided by members.
What Did Federal Juries Do?
The Federal Judicial Center counted 14,615 jury trials among defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Juries acquitted in 1,838 of them (13%).
Federal case data does not report partial acquittals separately, so the federal figure cannot be split the way the Air Force figure can. The federal rate is lower than every Air Force members rate in this post, including the rate for officer members.
How Do the Voting Rules Differ?
A federal jury verdict must be unanimous. In a non-capital court-martial, three-fourths of the members can convict. A conviction at a court-martial therefore does not require every member to agree.
Since December 23, 2024, court-martial members are selected at random to the maximum extent practicable. This is a recent change, and the records cannot yet show whether it affected acquittal rates.
Air Force Judges and Federal Judges
The Air Force records show 163 judge-alone contested cases, with 70 full acquittals (43%). That is the same rate as for Air Force members as a whole. Federal bench trials numbered 2,234, with 696 acquittals (31%).
The federal bench rate is higher than the federal jury rate. In the Air Force, the judge-alone rate is between the enlisted members rate and the officer members rate.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show what evidence members or juries heard, which offenses were charged, or how any panel voted. The Air Force cases cover offenses prosecuted under the UCMJ, while the federal cases cover all federal offenses that reached a jury.
Federal cases are counted by the fiscal year in which they ended, and court-martial cases by trial date. The rates describe how often each kind of panel acquitted. They do not show that one kind of panel decides more accurately than another.
How We Counted
Air Force: contested courts-martial with a verdict and a trial date in 2016 to 2025, by who decided guilt. Federal: trials among 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)
- Jury or Judge: Federal Bench and Jury Trials vs. Military Judge Alone and Members (overview)
- Federal Juries vs. Army Court-Martial Members: How Often Each Acquits
- 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.