> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Acquittal Rates: Federal Trials vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rate-vs-navy-courts-martial/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:38:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:38:54.000Z - Description: Navy courts-martial that were contested and reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal 42% of the time from 2016 to 2025: 259 of 622. Federal trials ended in an acquittal in 15% of cases (2,534 of 16,849). Most Navy cases have no forum listed, which limits what the forum breakdown can show. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Fede](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/) › Acquittals: Navy **In brief:** Navy courts-martial that were contested and reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal 42% of the time from 2016 to 2025: 259 of 622\. Federal trials ended in an acquittal in 15% of cases (2,534 of 16,849). Most Navy cases have no forum listed, which limits what the forum breakdown can show. Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 · Military Trial Results This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## The Navy Count The Navy records cover trials from 2016 to 2025\. They show 622 contested courts-martial with a verdict. A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of those, 259 ended in a full acquittal (42%). Another 88 (14%) were partial acquittals, where the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another. ## A Large Share of Navy Cases List No Forum The forum is the body that decided guilt. For 379 Navy cases, no forum is listed. Among them, 189 ended in a full acquittal (50%). The cases with a listed forum are fewer. A judge alone decided 228 cases, with 63 full acquittals (28%). Members decided 15 cases, with 7 full acquittals (47%). Of the members cases, 14 had enlisted members, with 7 full acquittals (50%). One case had officer members, and it ended without a full acquittal (0 of 1). Because the forum is missing for so many cases, the Navy forum rates should be read with care. The 15 members cases are too few to support a firm rate. ## What Happened in Federal Court? Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the Federal Judicial Center counted 753,808 defendants whose cases ended. Guilty pleas numbered 678,652 (90%). Dismissals numbered 58,307 (8%). Trials numbered 16,849 (2%). Trials ended in an acquittal in 2,534 cases (15%). Jury trials numbered 14,615 and had 1,838 acquittals (13%). Bench trials numbered 2,234 and had 696 acquittals (31%). Convictions totaled 692,967 (92%). ## Navy and Federal Rates by Year The Navy rate was highest in 2016 at 56% and lowest in 2025 at 23%. The federal trial acquittal rate was 16% in 2016 and 12% in 2025. The Navy rate was 54% in 2017 and 55% in 2019\. It was 34% in 2020, 45% in 2021, and 31% in 2022\. The yearly Navy counts are small, from 53 to 76 cases, so each percentage moves with only a few cases. | Year | Navy: full acquittals of contested cases | Federal: acquittals of trials | | ---- | ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | | 2016 | 36 of 64 (56%) | 291 of 1,853 (16%) | | 2017 | 33 of 61 (54%) | 276 of 1,874 (15%) | | 2018 | 28 of 61 (46%) | 320 of 1,879 (17%) | | 2019 | 35 of 64 (55%) | 287 of 1,950 (15%) | | 2020 | 18 of 53 (34%) | 199 of 1,425 (14%) | | 2021 | 34 of 76 (45%) | 196 of 1,081 (18%) | | 2022 | 21 of 67 (31%) | 290 of 1,669 (17%) | | 2023 | 19 of 57 (33%) | 263 of 1,840 (14%) | | 2024 | 23 of 66 (35%) | 220 of 1,723 (13%) | | 2025 | 12 of 53 (23%) | 192 of 1,555 (12%) | ## Differences in How Cases Reach a Verdict The Navy figure is a share of contested cases. The federal figure is a share of trials. A contested court-martial may involve a mixed plea, which has no exact federal match. Federal felonies also begin with a grand jury indictment. A court-martial has no grand jury, and an Article 32 hearing officer's conclusions are recommendations. The federal data counts all defendants, including those whose cases were dismissed. ## Limits of This Comparison The records cannot show why a Navy case ended in acquittal. They cannot show the charges, the evidence, or the Navy cases that ended before a verdict. A higher Navy percentage does not mean the Navy system is easier or harder on the accused. ### How We Counted Navy: contested courts-martial (not-guilty or mixed plea) with a verdict and a trial date in 2016 to 2025 (622). Federal: every defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (753,808; 16,849 trials), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in Table D-4. 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. **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. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/) (overview) - [Acquittal Rates: Federal Trials vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rate-vs-army-courts-martial/) - [Acquittal Rates: Federal Trials vs. Contested Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rate-vs-air-force-courts-martial/) - [Acquittal Rates: Federal Trials vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rate-vs-marine-corps-courts-martial/) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [Forum Selection](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/forum-selection/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.