Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2016: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In 2016, the median adjudged confinement for an obstruction of justice (Article 131b) conviction at court-martial was 12 months, across 11 convictions. In federal fiscal year 2016, 131 people were sentenced under guideline §2J1.2, and the median prison term for those sent to prison was 15 months. Th
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In brief: In 2016, the median adjudged confinement for an obstruction of justice (Article 131b) conviction at court-martial was 12 months, across 11 convictions. In federal fiscal year 2016, 131 people were sentenced under guideline §2J1.2, and the median prison term for those sent to prison was 15 months. The court-martial count is small, so one year of it cannot show a trend.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 131 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016, 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 Was Counted for 2016
The military side covers courts-martial with a trial date in calendar year 2016 that ended in a conviction for obstruction of justice. There were 11 such convictions: 10 in the Navy and 1 in the Marine Corps. Army court-martial records in this data begin in 2020, so no Army cases appear for this year.
The federal side covers people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2, the federal sentencing guideline for obstruction of justice. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 131 of them in fiscal year 2016, which ran from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. The date ranges overlap but do not match.
How Long Were the Sentences?
At court-martial, 9 of the 11 convictions (82%) included confinement. The median was 12 months, and a quarter of those sentences were 36 months or more.
In federal court, 95 of the 131 people (73%) received a prison term. Another 23 (18%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
These figures do not measure the same thing. A court-martial sentence here is the sentence adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. A federal prison term is the term imposed by the judge, not the time actually served.
| Courts-martial, 2016 | Federal court, FY2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 11 | 131 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 82% | 73% |
| Median confinement or prison | 12 months | 15 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 36 months | 24 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 9 of 11 with a plea recorded (82%) | 82% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 0 of 131 with the information (0%) |
Guilty Pleas in Each System
In 2016, guilty pleas made up 82% of both groups. At court-martial, 9 of the 11 convictions with a plea recorded were guilty pleas. In federal court, 107 of 131 people pleaded guilty, and 24 were convicted after a trial.
The federal median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 15 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 20 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among federal guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Discharges and Type of Court
Of the 11 enlisted members convicted at court-martial, 8 received a punitive discharge (73%). That count includes 1 dishonorable discharge and 7 bad-conduct discharges. A punitive discharge has no federal counterpart.
Of the 11 convictions, 5 (45%) were at a general court-martial, the level that handles the most serious charges. The rest were at lower-level courts-martial.
Federal Sentences Against the Guideline Range
For all 131 federal cases, the records show where the sentence fell against the guideline range. 33% (43) were within the range. 37% (48) were below the range without a government request, and 23% (30) were below it at the government's request. Only 8% (10) were above the range.
No federal case in this group carried a mandatory minimum prison term: the count was 0 (0%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 84 people (64%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 27 (21%) and restitution for 19 (15%).
Most federal defendants here had little criminal history: 78% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 5% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so no comparison is possible on that point.
All Years Together
Across all years in this data, there were 329 court-martial convictions with trial dates from 2016 to 2025, with a median confinement of 10 months. Federal courts sentenced 1,256 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 18 months. The yearly federal table shows how the count and median changed from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 131 | 15 months | 82% |
| 2017 | 130 | 14 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 136 | 18 months | 88% |
| 2019 | 131 | 12 months | 86% |
| 2020 | 107 | 12 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 85 | 18.3 months | 86% |
| 2022 | 111 | 21 months | 88% |
| 2023 | 163 | 24 months | 55% |
| 2024 | 148 | 27 months | 80% |
| 2025 | 114 | 18 months | 85% |
Limits of These Records
With only 11 court-martial convictions, a few sentences can move the 2016 median. The records also cannot show the facts of each case, why a case went to court-martial or federal court, or whether a sentence was later reduced. The numbers describe what was recorded, not why it happened.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2016 ending in a conviction for obstruction of justice (Article 131b) (11). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2016 under guideline §2J1.2 (obstruction of justice) (131), 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.
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.
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.
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 in 2017: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Obstruction of Justice Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Obstruction of Justice: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial
- Obstruction of Justice: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Obstruction of Justice: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Obstruction of Justice: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Obstruction of Justice: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
- Obstruction of Justice: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
- Obstruction of Justice: Courts-Martial at Fort Bliss vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Texas
- 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.