Obstruction of Justice Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
It may be too early to tell what the 2023 military sentencing reform changed for obstruction of justice. Court-martial convictions under Article 131b had a median confinement of 9 months for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 12 months for trials in 2024 and 2025. Federal sentences under guideline §2J1.2 h
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In brief: It may be too early to tell what the 2023 military sentencing reform changed for obstruction of justice. Court-martial convictions under Article 131b had a median confinement of 9 months for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 12 months for trials in 2024 and 2025. Federal sentences under guideline §2J1.2 had a median prison term of 24 months in fiscal years 2022 to 2023 and 22 months in fiscal years 2024 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,256 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2022 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended 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.
Why Is It Too Early to Tell?
For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone under sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and 2025 mix cases under the old rule and the new rule, and the records cannot tell them apart.
The numbers below report what the data shows so far. A change that appears between the periods happened alongside the reform in time. The records cannot show whether one caused the other.
What Did Court-Martial Sentences Look Like Before and After?
Trials in 2022 and 2023 produced 77 convictions for obstruction of justice. Of these, 61 (79%) included confinement. The median adjudged confinement was 9 months, and a quarter of the sentences were 25 months or more.
Trials in 2024 and 2025 produced 80 convictions. Confinement was part of the sentence in 62 (78%), with a median of 12 months. A quarter received 33.7 months or more.
The confinement rate was about the same in both periods. The median and the top-quarter figure were higher in the later period.
| Courts-martial 2022–2023 | Courts-martial 2024–2025 | Federal FY2022–2023 | Federal FY2024–2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 77 | 80 | 274 | 262 |
| With confinement or prison | 79% | 78% | 81% | 71% |
| Median confinement or prison | 9 months | 12 months | 24 months | 22 months |
| Guilty pleas | 74% | 61% | 69% | 82% |
Did Discharges and Court Levels Change?
In the 2022 and 2023 trials, 50 of 71 enlisted members (70%) received a punitive discharge: 20 dishonorable discharges and 30 bad-conduct discharges. In the 2024 and 2025 trials, it was 49 of 72 (68%): 19 dishonorable discharges and 30 bad-conduct discharges.
Officer outcomes are small counts. There were 5 officers convicted in the earlier period, with 2 dismissed, and 6 in the later period, with 4 dismissed.
A general court-martial heard 43 of the 77 earlier cases (56%) and 51 of the 80 later cases (64%). By service, the Army had 34 convictions in the earlier period and 40 in the later one. The Air Force had 11 and then 5, the Navy 19 and then 18, and the Marine Corps 13 and then 17.
How Did Federal Court Move in the Same Years?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 274 people sentenced under §2J1.2 in fiscal years 2022 to 2023 and 262 in fiscal years 2024 to 2025. Prison went to 221 of the earlier group (81%) and 187 of the later group (71%). Probation only applied to 36 (13%) and then 54 (21%).
The median prison term was 24 months (2 years) in the earlier period and 22 months in the later one. In the earlier period, a quarter received 42 months or more and a quarter received 12 months or less. In the later period, those figures were 41 months and 10 months.
The federal figures are a comparison point for the same years. They are not a test of the military reform.
What Happened to Guilty Pleas?
Guilty pleas were 74% of court-martial convictions in the 2022 and 2023 trials and 61% in the 2024 and 2025 trials. In federal court, 188 of 274 people (69%) pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2022 to 2023, and 86 were convicted after a trial.
In fiscal years 2024 to 2025, 215 of 262 (82%) pleaded guilty, and 47 were convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas moved lower in courts-martial and higher in federal court between the periods.
What Can Be Said, and What Cannot?
The data shows a higher court-martial median in 2024 and 2025, and a slightly lower federal median in the same years. It is only 2 periods, with 77 and 80 court-martial convictions. A different mix of cases could produce the same movement.
The records do not show which 2024 and 2025 cases fell under the new rules, how many sentences came from a military judge alone, or why any sentence was set. More years of data would be needed before a conclusion is possible.
How We Counted
Courts-martial ending in a conviction for obstruction of justice (Article 131b): trials in 2022 and 2023 (77) and in 2024 and 2025 (80). Federal: people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2 (obstruction of justice) in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 (274) and 2024 and 2025 (262), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
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)
- Obstruction of Justice and Perjury: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences (overview)
- Obstruction of Justice Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Obstruction of Justice Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Obstruction of Justice Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Obstruction of Justice Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial
- Guilty Pleas in Obstruction of Justice Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
- Obstruction of Justice Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- How Has Article 131b Changed in Army Courts-Martial Since 2021? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 131b Conviction in the Army? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 131b Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 131b in the Army: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 131b Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Obstruction Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 131b in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 131b, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 131b Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 131b Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 131b in the Navy-Marine Corps: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Article 131b (Obstruction, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 131b UCMJ: Obstructing Justice (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.