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
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2021
Almost every person sentenced in fiscal year 2021 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million had pleaded guilty: 566 of 582, or 97%. Only 16 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 32 months (2.7 years).
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2020
Federal judges sentenced 633 people in fiscal year 2020 for theft or fraud involving a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. Of those, 92% received a prison term, with a median of 32 months (2.7 years). The most common position against the guideline range was below the range without a government request
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 792 of the 842 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a $550,001 to $3.5 million loss received a prison term, or 94%. Their median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Just 33 people (4%) were sentenced to probation only.
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2018
The median prison term was 36 months (3 years) for people sent to prison in fiscal year 2018 after a federal theft or fraud conviction with a loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. That year, 925 people in this loss band were sentenced, and 859 of them (93%) received a prison term. People convicted at tr
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2017
Federal courts sentenced 1,071 people in fiscal year 2017 for theft or fraud with a dollar loss of $550,001 to $3.5 million. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 33 months (2.8 years), and 90% received a prison term. Only 90 of the 1,071 were convicted after a trial; the rest pleaded
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $550,001 to $3.5 Million, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 1,163 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss between $550,001 and $3.5 million. Of them, 91% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Most pleaded guilty: 1,071 of the 1,163, or 92%.
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, 1,227 people were sentenced in federal court for theft or fraud with a loss between $95,001 and $550,000. Of them, 928 (76%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter of those prison terms were 6 months or less.
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2024
The median prison term was 18 months for people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. That was lower than the band's 20-month median across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 1,280 people sentenced, 976 (76%) went to prison and 224 (18%) received
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 206 of the 1,247 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 received probation only (17%). Most, 983 (79%), received a prison term, with a median of 21 months. Only 26% of sentences fell within the guideline range.
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2022
Federal courts sentenced 1,228 people in fiscal year 2022 for theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. Among the 975 sent to prison, the median prison term was 20.1 months, and a quarter received 8 months or less. People who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 18 months; people conv
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 99% of the 1,013 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000 pleaded guilty. Just 11 were convicted at trial. Of the full group, 764 (75%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 20.5 months.
Federal Theft and Fraud Sentences With a Loss of $95,001 to $550,000, Fiscal Year 2020
Fiscal year 2020 had the fewest sentences in this loss band of any year from 2016 to 2025: 944 people sentenced for federal theft or fraud with a loss of $95,001 to $550,000. Of them, 748 (79%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 21 months. A sentence below the guideline range without a g
Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)
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