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Understanding Trends

Federal Prosecution Analysis

Federal prosecutions compared with courts-martial: sentences, guilty pleas, trials and acquittals, mandatory minimums, and supervised release, offense by offense, FY2016–2025.

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 48 min read

Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis

How do federal prosecutions compare with courts-martial? These posts use the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced in federal court and the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended, including dismissals and acquittals, for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Where a federal crime has a close counterpart in the UCMJ, a post sets the two side by side. Where it does not, the post reports the federal numbers on their own.

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More detailed posts: Comparisons Year by Year · Installations and Their Local Federal Courts · Federal Sentences by District · Drug Trafficking Sentences by Drug and Fiscal Year · Theft and Fraud Sentences by Dollar Loss and Fiscal Year · Type of Counsel · Federal Statutes: How Cases Ended

Overview Topics

Child Pornography (Images of Child Exploitation)

Drug Offenses

Sexual Abuse of Adults and Children

Theft, Fraud, and False Claims

Acquittal Rates

Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements

Judge or Jury, and No-Confinement Sentences

Murder, Manslaughter, and Assault

Kidnapping, Obstruction, and Perjury

Federal Sentences by Guideline (No Military Counterpart Unless Noted)

Comparisons Year by Year

Installations and Their Local Federal Courts

Federal Sentences by District

Drug Trafficking Sentences by Drug and Fiscal Year

Theft and Fraud Sentences by Dollar Loss and Fiscal Year

Type of Counsel

Federal Statutes: How Cases Ended

One post per section of the U.S. Code with at least 10 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under that section, fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

Title 7

Title 8

Title 15

Title 16

Title 18

Title 19

Title 21

Title 22

Title 26

Title 29

Title 31

Title 33

Title 40

Title 42

Title 46

Title 49

Title 50

How this data was built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built. Court-martial data: How the Military Trial Results Data Was Built.

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.

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