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
§2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 38 of the 39 people sentenced under §2T1.6 (97%) were ordered to pay restitution. 26 (67%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 16.5 months. 37 people (95%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial.
§2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
Among the 47 people sentenced under §2T1.6 in fiscal year 2017, 46 (98%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 48 months after the one trial conviction. 32 people (68%) received a prison term.
§2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 47 people were sentenced under §2T1.6, and all 47 pleaded guilty. 31 (66%) received a prison term with a median of 12 months. Restitution was ordered for 42 people (89%).
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 6 of the 40 people sentenced under §2B5.3 were convicted after a trial, and 34 (85%) pleaded guilty. 25 people (63%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. 53% were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
Of the 35 people sentenced under §2B5.3 in fiscal year 2024, 27 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. 60% were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request, and all 35 pleaded guilty.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, the median prison term under §2B5.3 was 24 months, higher than the 12-month median across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 44 people were sentenced, 26 (59%) received a prison term, and 5 were convicted after a trial.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
Fiscal year 2022 had 24 people sentenced under §2B5.3, with a median prison term of 4 months. That is the lowest yearly median in the table for this guideline. 15 people (63%) received a prison term, and all 24 pleaded guilty.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 64% of the 36 people sentenced under §2B5.3 (23 people) were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request. 22 (61%) received a prison term with a median of 12 months, and 13 (36%) received probation only.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 28 of the 37 people sentenced under §2B5.3 (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 10 months. All 37 pleaded guilty. 5 people (14%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
All 47 people sentenced under §2B5.3 in fiscal year 2019 pleaded guilty. 26 (55%) received a prison term with a median of 12 months, and 12 (26%) received probation only. 12 people (26%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, only 8 of the 70 people sentenced under §2B5.3 (11%) received a sentence within the guideline range. 47% were sentenced below the range without a government request. 30 people (43%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months.
§2B5.3 Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
Of the 82 people sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under §2B5.3, 5 were convicted after a trial and 77 (94%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 17 months overall, 16 months after a guilty plea, and 26 months after a trial.
Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)
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