Obstruction of Justice: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial
For obstruction of justice, the median sentence was longer after a trial than after a guilty plea in both systems. In courts-martial under Article 131b from 2016 to 2025, the median confinement was 9 months after a guilty plea and 21 months in contested cases ending in conviction. In federal court,
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In brief: For obstruction of justice, the median sentence was longer after a trial than after a guilty plea in both systems. In courts-martial under Article 131b from 2016 to 2025, the median confinement was 9 months after a guilty plea and 21 months in contested cases ending in conviction. In federal court, the median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 33 months after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,256 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 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.
What Sentences Followed a Federal Guilty Plea or Trial?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data covers 1,256 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2 (obstruction of justice) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The plea rate for this offense was 82%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. After a trial, it was 33 months, based on 198 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
In the federal sentencing data, trial includes people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. Federal prison terms here are the terms imposed, not the time actually served.
What Sentences Followed Court-Martial Pleas and Contested Cases?
Court-martial records for Article 131b show 232 convictions after a guilty plea and 86 convictions in contested cases, with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. That means 73% of the 318 convictions with a plea recorded were guilty pleas.
The median confinement after a guilty plea was 9 months, based on 215 cases with confinement. In contested cases ending in conviction, the median was 21 months, based on 56 cases with confinement.
A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Court-martial sentences here are the sentences adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal.
Did Every Service Show the Same Pattern?
The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps each had a longer median after a contested conviction than after a guilty plea. The Army medians were 6 months after a plea and 25 months in contested cases. The Navy medians were 9 months and 20 months. The Marine Corps medians were 11 months and 14 months.
The Air Force is the exception in this table. Its median was 9.9 months after a guilty plea and 8.9 months in contested cases. The Air Force contested group has only 7 cases with confinement, which is a small base for a median.
| Service | Median confinement after a guilty plea (cases) | Median confinement, contested cases (cases) |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 6 months (60) | 25 months (22) |
| Air Force | 9.9 months (18) | 8.9 months (7) |
| Navy | 9 months (70) | 20 months (13) |
| Marine Corps | 11 months (67) | 14 months (14) |
How Do Federal Sentences Compare With the Guideline Range?
The federal data also records where each sentence fell against the guideline range. A sentence within the range was imposed for 33% of people. A sentence below the range at the government's request applied to 25%, and a sentence below the range without a government request applied to 36%. A sentence above the range applied to 7%.
Court-martial records have no equivalent field, so this comparison is available for federal court only.
What Can Be Compared and What Cannot
Both systems show a longer median after a trial than after a plea. The court-martial medians are lower than the federal medians in both columns. The court-martial figures count confinement, and the federal figures count prison, so the terms are comparable in kind but not identical in meaning.
The sentence gap between plea and trial is a difference in medians. It does not show what a person would have received had the plea decision been different. Cases that go to trial may differ from cases that end in a plea in the facts, the evidence, and the other charges.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show whether a plea agreement capped a sentence, or what each side recommended. They also do not show how many court-martial convictions included punishments other than confinement, since the medians use only cases with confinement adjudged.
The 9-month, 15-month, 21-month, and 33-month medians each rest on different numbers of cases. The federal trial median rests on 198 people, and the court-martial contested median rests on 56.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: convictions for obstruction of justice (Article 131b) with trial dates in 2016 to 2025, split by plea (232 guilty pleas, 86 contested). Medians use cases with confinement adjudged. Federal: 1,256 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2 (obstruction of justice), fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (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.
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.
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 Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- 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
- 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.