Federal Trials vs. Courts-Martial in 2025: How Often Each Ended in Acquittal
Fiscal year 2025 has the lowest federal trial acquittal rate in the table: 192 of 1,555 trials (12%). Among 286 contested courts-martial with a 2025 trial date and a verdict, 106 ended in a full acquittal (37%). The figures count different groups of cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Fede › Acquittals in 2025
In brief: Fiscal year 2025 has the lowest federal trial acquittal rate in the table: 192 of 1,555 trials (12%). Among 286 contested courts-martial with a 2025 trial date and a verdict, 106 ended in a full acquittal (37%). The figures count different groups of cases.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 82,042 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 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 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 Federal Rate in Fiscal Year 2025
The Federal Judicial Center counted 82,042 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2025. Of them, 75,151 (92%) pleaded guilty and 5,336 (7%) had their cases dismissed. Trials numbered 1,555 (2%).
Jury trials numbered 1,324, with 135 acquittals (10%). Bench trials numbered 231, with 57 acquittals (25%). Convictions totaled 76,514 (93%).
Court-Martial Results With 2025 Trial Dates
There were 286 contested cases that reached a verdict. Full acquittals numbered 106 (37%), and partial acquittals numbered 72 (25%). A contested case involves a not-guilty or mixed plea.
The 2025 court-martial rate is close to the 36% of 2024. The 2025 federal rate is one point lower than the 13% of 2024.
Service Counts
The Army had 39 full acquittals in 87 contested cases. The Air Force had 32 in 71. The Navy had 12 in 53. The Marine Corps had 23 in 75.
The Marine Corps supplied 75 cases, a count close to the Army's 87. The records do not explain the differences among the services.
Who Decided Guilt in 2025?
A judge alone decided 110 cases and acquitted fully in 25 (23%). Members decided 126 and acquitted fully in 59 (47%). Enlisted members acquitted fully in 48 of 97 cases (49%). Officer members did so in 11 of 29 (38%).
Another 50 cases list no forum, with 22 full acquittals (44%).
In 2025, the members rate of 47% is higher than the judge-alone rate of 23%. The records do not say why. The cases with no forum listed are too numerous to ignore, and they limit how firmly the forum rates can be read.
The Series Through 2025
The table puts the 2025 row at the end of the series. The federal rate fell from 18% in 2021 to 12% in 2025. The court-martial rate was 36% in 2021 and 37% in 2025.
These changes are descriptive. They do not show a cause.
| 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 Measures Differ
Federal data counts trials. Court-martial data counts contested cases, which can include mixed pleas, and it also reports partial acquittals. Federal data does not.
A federal felony starts with a grand jury indictment, and a court-martial has no grand jury. Federal fiscal years end September 30, while the court-martial figures follow trial dates.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show why any case ended in acquittal, what charges were involved, or how many accused people were never brought to trial. Year-to-year changes in small groups, such as one service in one year, can come from a few cases.
The Air Force result of 32 in 71 is a count for all offenses together. Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals, so no offense-level rate can be given. The 2025 row is also the most recent year, and later records may add or revise cases.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: contested cases with a verdict and a trial date in 2025 (286). Federal: defendants whose cases ended in fiscal year 2025 (82,042; 1,555 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 2024: 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.