Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2019: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal
Of the 210 contested courts-martial with a 2019 trial date and a verdict, 90 ended in a full acquittal (43%). In fiscal year 2019, 287 of the 1,950 federal trials ended in an acquittal (15%). The court-martial figure was higher than the federal figure, but they are built from different groups of cas
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In brief: Of the 210 contested courts-martial with a 2019 trial date and a verdict, 90 ended in a full acquittal (43%). In fiscal year 2019, 287 of the 1,950 federal trials ended in an acquittal (15%). The court-martial figure was higher than the federal figure, but they are built from different groups of cases.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 85,478 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2019, 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.
Enlisted and Officer Members in 2019
The forum breakdown for 2019 shows a wide difference between panel types. Enlisted members fully acquitted in 37 of 59 cases (63%). Officer members fully acquitted in 18 of 85 cases (21%).
Together, members decided 144 cases and acquitted fully in 55 (38%). A judge alone decided 13 cases, with 8 full acquittals (62%). No forum is listed for 53 cases, with 27 full acquittals (51%).
The Overall Court-Martial Count
A contested case has a not-guilty or mixed plea. The 210 contested cases from 2019 include 90 full acquittals and 14 partial acquittals (7%). A partial acquittal is a verdict of not guilty on at least one charge and guilty on another.
The records come from the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps: the Air Force with 55 full acquittals in 146 cases, the Navy with 35 in 64, and the Marine Corps with 0 in 0. The Marine Corps row has no cases. The Army data starts in 2020.
The Air Force count is the largest. The overall 43% therefore follows the Air Force result closely, and the Navy result adds the next-largest share of cases.
Federal Court in Fiscal Year 2019
Federal courts ended cases for 85,478 defendants. Pleas of guilty accounted for 77,104 (90%), and dismissals for 6,424 (8%). Trials accounted for 1,950 (2%).
Of the trials, 1,689 were jury trials with 207 acquittals (12%), and 261 were bench trials with 80 acquittals (31%). The total number convicted was 78,767 (92%).
Reading the Gap Correctly
A federal trial results from a case where the defendant did not plead guilty and the case was not dismissed. A contested court-martial includes cases with mixed pleas. The denominators differ, so a higher court-martial percentage is not a like-for-like finding.
Federal years end September 30, while the court-martial years follow trial dates. A federal felony needs a grand jury indictment. Courts-martial skip that step.
Jury trials in federal court ended in acquittals at 12%, and bench trials at 31%. Court-martial forums show a similar split in 2019, with a judge alone at 62% and members at 38%, but the small judge-alone count of 13 cases limits that comparison.
Other Years for Reference
The table places 2019 beside the other years in the data, from 2016 to 2025. The 2019 federal rate of 15% matches 2017. The court-martial rate of 43% is the highest in the years before 2020.
| 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 Cannot Be Concluded
The numbers do not show whether any verdict was correct. They do not show how the accused chose a forum, and they cannot explain the difference between enlisted and officer panels.
The records also cannot show how many of the 210 cases involved mixed pleas. The figures describe outcomes only.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: contested cases with a verdict and a trial date in 2019 (210). Federal: defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2019 (85,478; 1,950 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 2018: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal (previous or next year)
- Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2020: 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.