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
§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, a mandatory minimum prison term applied to 16 of the 139 people with that information recorded (12%) under §2D2.1. Of the 140 people sentenced, 60 (43%) went to prison, with a median term of 3 months. Within the guideline range were 84%.
§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 173 people were sentenced under §2D2.1, and 63 (36%) were sent to prison with a median term of 2.3 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 people (8%). Within the guideline range were 149 people (87%).
§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 190 of the 191 people sentenced under §2D2.1 pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. A fine was ordered for 86 people (45%). The median prison term among the 66 people sent to prison (35%) was 1 month.
§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
Of the 213 people sentenced under §2D2.1 in fiscal year 2017, 132 (62%) received probation only and 77 (36%) received a prison term, with a median of 2 months. A fine was ordered for 65 people (31%). Guilty pleas were 98%.
§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 131 of the 230 people sentenced under §2D2.1 (57%) received probation only, and 94 (41%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 2 months. Sentences within the guideline range were 95% of the group.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 112 people were sentenced in federal court under §2T1.4, the same count as in fiscal year 2024. A prison term went to 83 (74%), with a median of 24 months (2 years). A sentence below the range at the government's request went to 36%.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
Of the 112 people sentenced under §2T1.4 in fiscal year 2024, 82 (73%) received a prison term, with a median of 20.5 months. No one had a mandatory minimum prison term apply: 0 of 112. Nearly every guilty plea, more than 99%, had a written plea agreement.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, the median prison term was 73 months for the 14 people convicted after a trial under §2T1.4, and 18 months for those who pleaded guilty. Of the 126 people sentenced under this guideline, 112 (89%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term for all 87 people sent to prison was 24 mon
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
In fiscal year 2022, 19% of the 139 people sentenced under §2T1.4 received a sentence within the guideline range, and 34% received one below the range at the government's request. The median prison term was 20 months for the 90 people (65%) sent to prison. Guilty pleas were 96%.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Under §2T1.4 in fiscal year 2021, 88 of 138 people (64%) were sentenced to prison, and 34 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person, less than 1% of the group.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 121 people were sentenced in federal court under §2T1.4, the fewest in the 2016 to 2025 record for this guideline. A prison term went to 88 (73%), and the median was 21.5 months. No one in the group was sentenced above the guideline range.
§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
Of the 166 people sentenced under §2T1.4 in fiscal year 2019, 89 (54%) received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request. Only 36 (22%) were sentenced within the range. The median prison term was 18 months for the 122 people (73%) who went to prison.
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