Military Trial Results · Analysis
Understanding Trends in Military Practice
Analysis of real court-martial records: what gets charged, how cases end, what sentences look like, how experienced the lawyers of record were, and what changed when the law did.
Every number is computed from the Military Trial Results data, built from the services' public court-martial records. Each post says how many cases it rests on, the years covered, and how we counted. Read how this data was built before citing it.
Browse the Analysis
- By InstallationBases and regions, by time period
- By OffenseUCMJ articles, rising and falling charges
- By ServiceArmy, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps
- By YearWhat each year and month looked like
- SentencesConfinement, discharges, judge alone vs. members
- Counsel ExperiencePrior cases of the lawyers of record
- Law ChangesBefore and after the major reforms
- Episode CompanionsThe numbers behind podcast episodes
Federal Prosecution Analysis
How do federal prosecutions compare with courts-martial? These posts use the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of everyone sentenced in federal court and the Federal Judicial Center's records of every federal defendant whose case ended, including dismissals and acquittals, for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. They cover sentences, guilty pleas, trials and acquittals, mandatory minimums, and supervised release, offense by offense. Where a federal crime has a close counterpart in the UCMJ, the post sets the two side by side. Where it doesn't, the post reports the federal numbers on their own. For how military law has moved toward the federal system, start with Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System.
Latest Analysis
§2B3.3 Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 13 people were sentenced under §2B3.3, and all 13 pleaded guilty. In all, 7 (54%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 12 months, and 7 sentences (54%) were within the guideline range.
§2B3.3 Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 8 of the 11 people sentenced under §2B3.3 (73%) received a prison term, a higher share than in the all-years figures for this guideline. The median prison term was 15 months. All 11 pleaded guilty, and 7 sentences (64%) were within the guideline range.
§2B3.3 Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
Of the 16 people sentenced in federal court under §2B3.3 in fiscal year 2018, 9 (56%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. Sentences were within the guideline range for 8 people (50%), which is about the same as the 51% for all guidelines that year and higher than the 46% for all year
§2B3.3 Blackmail and Similar Forms of Extortion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 18 people were sentenced in federal court with §2B3.3 as the primary guideline, the largest yearly count for this guideline from 2016 to 2025. In all, 9 received a prison term and 9 received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months.
§2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 16 people were sentenced under guideline §2H4.1, "Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade." 13 of them (81%) received a prison term, and 3 (19%) received probation only. The median prison term was 102 months, the highest median in the yearly table apart from 114 months i
§2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
In fiscal year 2024, 7 of the 13 people sentenced under guideline §2H4.1, "Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade," pleaded guilty (54%), and 6 were convicted after a trial. That is a lower plea rate than the 71% for all fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 87 months, and 1
§2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
Federal courts sentenced 16 people in fiscal year 2023 whose primary guideline was §2H4.1, "Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade." Every one of them received a prison term, with a median of 65 months. That median is lower than the 72 months across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and lower than
§2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
In fiscal year 2017, 11 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2H4.1, "Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade." All 11 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 37 months. That median is lower than the 72 months for all 104 people sentenced under this guideline
§2J1.4 Impersonation: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 7 of the 13 people sentenced under §2J1.4 (54%) received probation only, and 5 (38%) went to prison. The median prison term for those 5 was 18 months, higher than the 5.5 months in fiscal year 2020. The 13 cases are too few to call this a trend.
§2J1.4 Impersonation: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 13 people were sentenced under §2J1.4, and 10 of them (77%) received a prison term with a median of 5.5 months. Of the 13, 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 4.6 months after a guilty plea and 5.5 months after a trial, which are close.
§2J1.4 Impersonation: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 12 of the 13 people sentenced under §2J1.4 (92%) received a sentence within the guideline range. In all, 5 people (38%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 4 months, and 6 (46%) received probation only.
§2J1.4 Impersonation: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
Of the 14 people sentenced under §2J1.4 in fiscal year 2018, 11 (79%) received a prison term, a higher share than the 60% across all years of this guideline. The median prison term was 6 months. Only 1 person (7%) received probation only.
Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)
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