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
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
In fiscal year 2024, 406 people were sentenced in federal court under §2G1.3 as the primary guideline, and all 406 (100%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 121 months (10.1 years). A mandatory minimum applied to 326 of the 406 people (80%).
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 415 people were sentenced in federal court under §2G1.3 as the primary guideline. 413 (more than 99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The median supervised release term was 84 months, and 10 people received a life sentence.
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
Fiscal year 2022 had 475 people sentenced under §2G1.3 as the primary guideline, the highest count in the sheet's yearly table. All 475 (100%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). 66 people were convicted after a trial, with a median prison term of 168 months
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 336 people were sentenced in federal court with §2G1.3 as the primary guideline. A mandatory minimum applied to 241 of the 336 (72%), and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). 44% of sentences were within the guideline range, and 9% were above it.
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 305 people were sentenced in federal court under §2G1.3 as the primary guideline, the fewest in any year from 2016 to 2025 in the sheet's table. 304 (more than 99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). 50% were sentenced within the guidel
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
All 375 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 with §2G1.3 as the primary guideline received a prison term (100%). The median prison term was 120 months (10 years), and a mandatory minimum applied to 262 of the 375 (70%). Those convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 204 m
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 408 people were sentenced in federal court with §2G1.3 as the primary guideline. Of those, 401 (98%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The 43 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 292 months, compared with 120 mont
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 1,490 people sentenced under §2B3.1 in fiscal year 2023, more than the 1,424 in fiscal year 2022. The median prison term was 96 months, or 8 years. After a trial the median was 168 months, and after a guilty plea it was 96 months.
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
The median prison term under §2B3.1 was 97 months in fiscal year 2022, the highest median in the table below. The Commission counted 1,424 people sentenced, and 30% received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request. Within-range sentences were 38%.
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 1,290 people were sentenced under §2B3.1, and the median prison term for the 1,267 sent to prison (98%) was 93 months. Guilty pleas were 96% of the cases, the highest plea share in the table. After a trial, the median was 226.5 months.
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 1,297 people were sentenced under §2B3.1, which is fewer than the 1,805 in fiscal year 2019. The median prison term was 87 months, and 3 people received a life sentence. Sentences were within the guideline range for 43%.
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
The median prison term under §2B3.1 in fiscal year 2019 was 95.5 months, or 8 years, for the 1,782 people sent to prison. In the table below, only fiscal year 2022, at 97 months, has a higher median. A mandatory minimum applied to 42% of the 1,805 people sentenced.
Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)
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