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
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
184 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2022, the largest yearly count in the table through that year. 159 (86%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, and a mandatory minimum applied to 4 of the 183 people with that information recorded.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
The median prison term under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2021 was 15 months, which is lower than the 18 months in both fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2022. 159 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 136 (86%) were sent to prison.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
Of the 154 people sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2020, 17 (11%) received a sentence above the guideline range, and 80 (52%) received one within it. 137 people (89%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 18 months.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 137 people were sentenced under §2A6.1, and 120 (88%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 17.9 months after a guilty plea and 36.4 months after a trial, and 18 months for everyone sent to prison.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, the median prison term under §2A6.1 was 24 months (2 years), the same as the 24-month median for all federal guidelines that year. 146 people were sentenced under §2A6.1, and 130 (89%) of them went to prison.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
In fiscal year 2017, 11 of the 116 people sentenced under §2A6.1 were convicted after a trial, and 105 (91%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 41 months after a trial and 20 months after a guilty plea.
§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
135 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 with §2A6.1 as the primary guideline, and 114 of them (84%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months.
§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 89 of the 185 people sentenced under §2S1.3 (48%) received a sentence within the guideline range. 143 (77%) were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 8 months.
§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
The median prison term under §2S1.3 in fiscal year 2024 was 6.7 months, and a quarter of the people sent to prison received 0.6 months or less. 132 of the 177 people sentenced (75%) received a prison term.
§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
172 people were sentenced under §2S1.3 in fiscal year 2023, and 139 of them (81%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 9.5 months, which is lower than the 12 months in fiscal year 2022.
§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
In fiscal year 2022, 181 of the 185 people sentenced under §2S1.3 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 93% of those guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement. 137 people (74%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 12 months.
§2S1.3 Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 151 of the 190 people sentenced under §2S1.3 (79%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 12 months, but a quarter of those sent to prison received 2.8 months or less.
Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)
Get the free newsletter.
Clips, audiograms and the opening of every issue, free.