18 U.S.C. 113, Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 5,508 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 18 U.S.C. 113, 4,055 (74%) were convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those convicted, 3,251 (80%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 34 months (2.8 years). Another 1,369 defendants (25%)
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 113
In brief: Of 5,508 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 18 U.S.C. 113, 4,055 (74%) were convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those convicted, 3,251 (80%) received a prison term on that charge, with a median of 34 months (2.8 years). Another 1,369 defendants (25%) had their cases dismissed.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 5,508 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
Charge Level and Prison Terms
The section heading in Title 18 of the U.S. Code is "Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdiction". The records give a level for each charge. Under section 113, 3,302 defendants (60%) faced a felony, 2,095 (38%) a Class A misdemeanor, and 111 (2%) a petty offense.
Of the 4,055 convicted, 3,251 received a prison term on this charge. For those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 34 months (2.8 years). The median does not include convicted defendants with no prison term on this charge.
A Dismissal Rate of 25%
The Federal Judicial Center data counts every defendant whose case ended. Of the 5,508, 3,910 (71%) pleaded guilty and 1,369 (25%) had their cases dismissed.
Dismissal in these records has a broad meaning. It includes charges dismissed on the government's motion, for instance after a defendant pleaded guilty in another case. The count cannot tell those apart from other dismissals.
Year to year, the guilty plea rate stayed between 66% and 75%. The dismissal rate stayed between 19% and 29%. The 2025 figures were 75% and 19%.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 579 | 71% | 26% | 19 | 8 (42%) |
| 2017 | 591 | 72% | 24% | 23 | 9 (39%) |
| 2018 | 590 | 68% | 27% | 29 | 14 (48%) |
| 2019 | 635 | 66% | 29% | 33 | 8 (24%) |
| 2020 | 468 | 70% | 26% | 19 | 8 (42%) |
| 2021 | 547 | 71% | 26% | 15 | 6 (40%) |
| 2022 | 564 | 70% | 27% | 19 | 7 (37%) |
| 2023 | 495 | 74% | 22% | 22 | 7 (32%) |
| 2024 | 527 | 74% | 21% | 23 | 8 (35%) |
| 2025 | 512 | 75% | 19% | 27 | 9 (33%) |
What Happened at Trial?
A total of 229 defendants (4%) went to trial. Of those 229 trials, 84 (37%) ended in an acquittal.
Most trials were before a jury. The 177 jury trials produced 62 acquittals (35%). The 52 bench trials, decided by a judge, produced 22 acquittals (42%).
These rates describe only the small group of cases that were tried. Cases that were tried may differ from cases that ended in a plea or a dismissal.
Defendants Grouped by Counsel
Federal public or community defenders represented 2,973 defendants (54%). CJA panel attorneys represented 1,517 (28%). Retained private counsel represented 503 (9%), and 315 (6%) were self-represented.
Guilty plea rates were 80% for defenders, 79% for CJA panel attorneys, and 60% for retained counsel. Retained counsel cases had a dismissal rate of 34%. At trial, acquittals were 36% of defender trials, 32% of CJA panel attorney trials, and 44% of retained counsel trials. Self-represented defendants had 83% of cases dismissed, and 5 of their 8 trials ended in an acquittal.
These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. The type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case, and defendants who hire a lawyer face different charges and circumstances from those who are appointed one.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 2,973 | 80% | 17% | 105 | 38 (36%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 1,517 | 79% | 16% | 84 | 27 (32%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 503 | 60% | 34% | 32 | 14 (44%) |
| Self-represented | 315 | 14% | 83% | 8 | 5 (5 of 8) |
Link to Court-Martial Comparisons
The approved crosswalk includes this section in the pairing for aggravated assault under Article 128. Separate comparison posts set the federal and court-martial numbers side by side. This post reports the federal numbers alone.
A federal case starts with a prosecutor's charging decision, and a federal felony needs a grand jury indictment. Those steps shape which cases reach the counts above.
Beyond What the Records Show
The records do not describe the facts of any case or the evidence. They follow only the most serious charge when the case ended, so a case first charged differently can appear here. They also cannot show why acquittal or dismissal rates differed between counsel groups.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 113, any subsection (5,508), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (comparison with courts-martial)
- 18 U.S.C. 81, Arson within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 111, Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 115, Influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 117, Domestic assault by an habitual offender: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 128 Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Fewer or More? Assault Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 128 UCMJ: Assault, Aggravated Assault, and Strangulation (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.