Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2016: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal
In 2016, 71 of 179 contested courts-martial that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (40%). In federal court, 291 of the 1,853 trials that ended in fiscal year 2016 produced an acquittal (16%). The groups counted are different, so the gap does not measure how each system treats the accused.
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In brief: In 2016, 71 of 179 contested courts-martial that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (40%). In federal court, 291 of the 1,853 trials that ended in fiscal year 2016 produced an acquittal (16%). The groups counted are different, so the gap does not measure how each system treats the accused.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 77,318 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2016, 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 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 Did Courts-Martial Record in 2016?
The court-martial records list 179 contested cases with a 2016 trial date and a verdict. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of these, 71 ended in a full acquittal, which means not guilty of every charge.
A further 16 cases (9%) were partial acquittals. In those, the accused was not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. They are not part of the 40% figure.
Which Services Have Records for That Year?
The Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Navy have 2016 records. The Army records in this data begin in 2020, so no Army cases are included.
The Air Force had 35 full acquittals in 113 contested cases. The Navy had 36 in 64. The Marine Corps had 0 in 2, a count too small to read as a rate.
Among these services, the Navy has the highest rate, with 36 of 64, while the Air Force supplies the largest number of cases. A combined court-martial rate reflects all services together, so it moves most with the Air Force count.
Who Decided Guilt?
Cases decided by a judge alone numbered only 11, with 5 full acquittals (45%). Cases decided by members numbered 113, with 35 full acquittals (31%).
Members cases divide by panel type. Enlisted members had 21 full acquittals in 49 cases (43%). Officer members had 14 in 64 cases (22%). A further 55 cases have no forum listed, and 31 of them ended in a full acquittal (56%).
Members are the service members who sit on a court-martial panel and vote on guilt. A judge-alone case is decided by the military judge without a panel. The 11 judge-alone cases are too few to compare with the 113 members cases.
How Federal Cases Ended in Fiscal Year 2016
The Federal Judicial Center counted 77,318 federal defendants whose cases ended in this fiscal year. Guilty pleas made up 68,459 (89%). Dismissals made up 7,006 (9%). Only 1,853 (2%) went to trial.
Jury trials numbered 1,627, with 225 acquittals (14%). Bench trials, which a judge decides, numbered 226, with 66 acquittals (29%). Altogether, 70,021 defendants (91%) were convicted.
Why 40% and 16% Should Not Be Set Side by Side Without Care
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. The court-martial figures follow the date of trial. The periods do not match exactly.
The federal rate counts trials, while the court-martial rate counts contested cases, a wider group. Federal data does not report partial acquittals separately. Federal felonies also need a grand jury indictment, and courts-martial have no grand jury.
The Same Comparison in Later Years
The table runs through 2025. The court-martial rate in 2016 was 40%, and the federal trial rate was 16%. Later rows show how each series changed.
| Year | Courts-martial: full acquittals | Federal trials: acquittals |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 71 of 179 (40%) | 291 of 1,853 (16%) |
| 2017 | 87 of 217 (40%) | 276 of 1,874 (15%) |
| 2018 | 90 of 239 (38%) | 320 of 1,879 (17%) |
| 2019 | 90 of 210 (43%) | 287 of 1,950 (15%) |
| 2020 | 81 of 167 (49%) | 199 of 1,425 (14%) |
| 2021 | 166 of 459 (36%) | 196 of 1,081 (18%) |
| 2022 | 144 of 411 (35%) | 290 of 1,669 (17%) |
| 2023 | 146 of 362 (40%) | 263 of 1,840 (14%) |
| 2024 | 123 of 340 (36%) | 220 of 1,723 (13%) |
| 2025 | 106 of 286 (37%) | 192 of 1,555 (12%) |
What the 2016 Records Cannot Show
The records do not show why any case ended as it did. They do not show how many accused people avoided trial altogether, or how charges were chosen. One year of data, especially with small counts for some services, supports only a description.
The 2016 row is also the first in the table, so it has no earlier year to set beside it. Readers who want to see movement should use the later rows, with the caution that each year has its own mix of services.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: contested cases with a verdict and a trial date in 2016 (179). Federal: defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2016 (77,318; 1,853 trials), Federal Judicial Center.
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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials? (overview)
- Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2017: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal (previous or next year)
- Forum Selection (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.