Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2024: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal
In 2024, the Marine Corps recorded 12 full acquittals in 62 contested courts-martial. Across all services, 123 of 340 contested cases ended in a full acquittal (36%). Federal trials in fiscal year 2024 ended in an acquittal in 220 of 1,723 cases (13%).
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In brief: In 2024, the Marine Corps recorded 12 full acquittals in 62 contested courts-martial. Across all services, 123 of 340 contested cases ended in a full acquittal (36%). Federal trials in fiscal year 2024 ended in an acquittal in 220 of 1,723 cases (13%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 74,684 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2024, 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.
The Marine Corps Result in 2024
The Marine Corps had 12 full acquittals in 62 contested cases in 2024. The records for earlier years show much smaller Marine Corps counts of full acquittals, and these records cannot show why the 2024 result is different.
The other services recorded 46 full acquittals in 124 Army cases, 42 in 88 Air Force cases, and 23 in 66 Navy cases.
All Services Together
The 340 contested courts-martial with a 2024 trial date and a verdict include 123 full acquittals (36%) and 97 partial acquittals (29%). A contested case involves a not-guilty or mixed plea. A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge and guilty on another.
Because the services differ in size, the combined rate reflects each service in proportion to its count of cases. The Army and the Air Force together account for 124 and 88 of the 340 cases.
Forum Results in 2024
Members decided 150 cases and acquitted fully in 73 (49%). Enlisted members acquitted fully in 65 of 128 cases (51%), and officer members in 8 of 22 (36%).
A judge alone decided 137 cases, with 33 full acquittals (24%). The 53 cases with no forum listed include 17 full acquittals (32%).
Federal Defendants in Fiscal Year 2024
The Federal Judicial Center counted 74,684 defendants whose cases ended. Pleas of guilty came to 67,902 (91%). Dismissals came to 5,059 (7%). Trials came to 1,723 (2%).
Jury trials numbered 1,491 and ended in 159 acquittals (11%). Bench trials numbered 232 and ended in 61 acquittals (26%). Convictions totaled 69,405 (93%).
Reading the Series Together
The 2024 federal trial rate of 13% is lower than the 14% of 2023. The court-martial rate of 36% is lower than the 40% of 2023. The table lists each year.
These rates measure different groups. Federal trials are a small part of all federal cases, while contested courts-martial are a wider group that includes mixed pleas.
| 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%) |
How the Systems Differ
A federal felony needs a grand jury indictment. A court-martial has no grand jury. Federal fiscal years end September 30, while the court-martial figures follow the date of trial.
The federal side includes every defendant whose case ended, so it covers dismissals and guilty pleas as well as trials. The court-martial side starts from contested cases only, and a case with a guilty plea to every charge is not in it.
What Is Not Known
The records cannot show why Marine Corps results changed or whether the change will continue. They give no detail on charges or evidence. The yearly service counts are small enough that a few cases would change a percentage.
The records also say nothing about the type of offense in these cases. Air Force records in particular rarely list the charges in acquittals, so the results here cover all offenses together.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: contested cases with a verdict and a trial date in 2024 (340). Federal: defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2024 (74,684; 1,723 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 2023: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal (previous or next year)
- Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2025: 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.