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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.

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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.

See all federal prosecution analysis

Latest Analysis

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021

    In fiscal year 2021, 597 people were sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking with a primary drug coded as other drug. Of them, 506 (85%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Both the count and the median were lower than in each of fiscal years 2016 to 2020.

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020

    Of the 1,845 people sentenced for federal trafficking in the other drug category in fiscal year 2020, 1,691 (92%) received a prison term. Their median term was 42 months (3.5 years). A mandatory minimum applied to 781 people, or 42%, compared with 23% for this category across fiscal years 2016 to 20

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019

    Federal courts sentenced 1,984 people for trafficking in the other drug category in fiscal year 2019, the highest yearly count in the Commission's table for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years), and a mandatory minimum applied to 698 people (35%).

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018

    A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 292 of the 1,376 people sentenced for other drug trafficking in fiscal year 2018, or 21%. The median prison term was 46 months (3.8 years). Of the 1,376, 1,210 (88%) were sent to prison.

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017

    In fiscal year 2017, 1,295 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking where the Commission coded the primary drug as other drug. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 37 months (3.1 years). People who pleaded guilty had a median of 36 months, and the 47 people convicted at

  • Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 1,276 people sentenced for federal drug trafficking in fiscal year 2016 whose primary drug was listed as other drug. Of them, 1,084 (85%) received a prison term, and the median term was 37 months (3.1 years). A mandatory minimum applied to 111 people, or 9%.

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025

    Fiscal year 2025 had 463 federal sentences for crack cocaine trafficking, the smallest yearly count in the fiscal year 2016 to 2025 table. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), lower than the 72-month median for all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases. A mandatory minimum applied to 34% of crack

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024

    In fiscal year 2024, 673 people were sentenced in federal court for crack cocaine trafficking, and their median prison term was 60 months (5 years). That was lower than the 70-month median for all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases. Just 21% of crack cocaine sentences were within the guideline range, whi

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023

    The median federal prison term for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2023 was 50.5 months (4.2 years), the lowest yearly median in the fiscal year 2016 to 2025 table. For all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases that year, the median was 65 months. The Sentencing Commission counted 855 people senten

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022

    Federal courts sentenced 1,086 people for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2022. Below-range sentences at the government's request were the largest group, at 35%, ahead of sentences within the guideline range at 31%. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years).

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021

    In fiscal year 2021, 1,049 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking crack cocaine, with a median prison term of 60 months (5 years). Only 32% of the sentences fell within the guideline range. A mandatory minimum applied to 48%, compared with 71% for all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases th

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 1,168 people sentenced for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2020, fewer than the 1,506 in fiscal year 2019. Of those sent to prison, the median term was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 100 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or les

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