Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2022: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
The median federal prison term for obstruction of justice in fiscal year 2022 was 21 months, among 111 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2. At court-martial in 2022, the median adjudged confinement was 14 months across 46 convictions. The share of cases with any confinement was about the same: 7
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 8 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Obstruction of Justice and Perjury › Obstruction of Justice: 2022
In brief: The median federal prison term for obstruction of justice in fiscal year 2022 was 21 months, among 111 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2. At court-martial in 2022, the median adjudged confinement was 14 months across 46 convictions. The share of cases with any confinement was about the same: 76% at court-martial and 73% in federal court.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 111 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022, 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.
Length of Sentences in 2022
Federal sentences were longer at the median. Among federal defendants sent to prison, the median term was 21 months. A quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less.
At court-martial, the median confinement was 14 months, and a quarter of sentences were 35.7 months or more. Court-martial figures are the sentences adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal figures are prison terms imposed, not time served.
| Courts-martial, 2022 | Federal court, FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 46 | 111 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 76% | 73% |
| Median confinement or prison | 14 months | 21 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 35.7 months | 41 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 31 of 46 with a plea recorded (67%) | 88% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 3 of 111 with the information (3%) |
How Often Was Anyone Confined?
Confinement was part of 35 of the 46 court-martial sentences (76%). In federal court, 81 of 111 people (73%) received a prison term, and 22 (20%) received probation only with no prison or other confinement.
Who Was Counted
The court-martial group is convictions for obstruction of justice (Article 131b) with a trial date in calendar year 2022. By service, that was Army 22, Air Force 7, Navy 10, and Marine Corps 7.
The federal group is people sentenced under the obstruction guideline in fiscal year 2022, which ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. The periods overlap without matching, and the units differ: convictions on the military side, people sentenced on the federal side.
Pleas, Trials, and Sentence Length
Of 46 court-martial convictions with a plea recorded, 31 (67%) were guilty pleas. Median confinement was 12 months after a guilty plea (27 cases with confinement) and 24.5 months in contested cases ending in conviction (8 cases with confinement).
Federal guilty pleas were more common: 98 of 111 (88%), with 13 people convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a plea and 58.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 12 people sent to prison. Of federal guilty pleas, 93% included a written plea agreement and 7% did not.
Discharges and Officers at Court-Martial
Of 42 enlisted members convicted, 30 (71%) received a punitive discharge: 16 dishonorable and 14 bad-conduct discharges. Officers convicted numbered 4, and 2 of them were dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. General courts-martial accounted for 27 of 46 convictions (59%).
Other Federal Measures
Against the guideline range, 35% (39) of federal sentences were within it and 5% (6) were above it. Below-range sentences made up 27% (30) at the government's request and 32% (36) without one.
A mandatory minimum applied to 3 people (3%). Supervised release was ordered for 80 (72%), with a median of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 27 (24%) and a fine for 20 (18%). In criminal history, 76% were in category I and 6% in category VI, a measure court-martial records do not include.
The Longer View
For 2016 to 2025 combined, there were 329 court-martial convictions with a median confinement of 10 months, and 1,256 federal sentences with a median prison term of 18 months. The table lists each federal fiscal 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% |
What the Numbers Leave Open
These are counts and medians for a single year. They do not show the conduct behind each case, the charges that came with obstruction, or whether a sentence changed after trial. The contested and trial subgroups are small.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2022 ending in a conviction for obstruction of justice (Article 131b) (46). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2022 under guideline §2J1.2 (obstruction of justice) (111), 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 2021: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2023: 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.