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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 Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019

    A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 833 of the 1,506 people sentenced for federal crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2019 (55%). Across all drugs under guideline §2D1.1 that year, the rate was 69%. The median prison term for crack cocaine was 60 months (5 years), the same as the all-dru

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018

    In fiscal year 2018, the median federal prison term for crack cocaine trafficking was 68 months (5.7 years), the highest yearly median in the fiscal year 2016 to 2025 table. That was higher than the 60-month median for all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases that year. The Sentencing Commission counted 1,

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017

    Federal judges sentenced 1,543 people for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2017, and those sent to prison had a median term of 61 months (5.1 years). Only 41% of the sentences were within the guideline range. Below-range sentences without a government request (29%) were slightly more common

  • Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016

    In fiscal year 2016, federal courts sentenced 1,544 people for trafficking crack cocaine under guideline §2D1.1. The median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). The 46 people convicted after a trial received a median of 190 months, compared with 60 months for those who pleaded guilty.

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025

    Federal courts sentenced 378 people for marijuana trafficking in fiscal year 2025, the lowest count in the 2016 to 2025 table. 322 of them (85%) received prison, with a median term of 30 months (2.5 years), and 50 (13%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 176 (47%).

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024

    In fiscal year 2024, 464 people were sentenced in federal court for marijuana trafficking. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), and only 36% of sentences (165) fell within the guideline range. A mandatory minimum applied to 226 people (49%).

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023

    The median prison term for federal marijuana trafficking in fiscal year 2023 was 25 months (2.1 years), among 503 people sent to prison out of 557 sentenced. A mandatory minimum applied to 261 people (47%). 545 (98%) pleaded guilty.

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022

    In fiscal year 2022, federal courts sentenced 796 people for trafficking with marijuana as the primary drug. 680 (85%) went to prison with a median term of 24 months, and 91 (11%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 344 (43%).

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021

    Of 986 people sentenced for federal marijuana trafficking in fiscal year 2021, 977 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty and 9 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 23 months overall, 21 months after a guilty plea, and 120 months for the 9 people convicted at trial.

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020

    Federal courts sentenced 1,116 people for marijuana trafficking in fiscal year 2020. Of them, 983 (88%) received a prison term with a median of 21 months, and 99 (9%) received probation only. In 26% of cases (288), the judge sentenced below the guideline range without a government request.

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019

    In fiscal year 2019, 1,637 of the 1,665 people sentenced for federal marijuana trafficking (98%) pleaded guilty, and their median prison term was 24 months. The 28 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 58 months. A mandatory minimum applied in 44% of the cases (733).

  • Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018

    A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 753 (36%) of the 2,101 people sentenced for federal marijuana trafficking in fiscal year 2018. Those sent to prison had a median term of 21 months. Sentences within the guideline range accounted for 54% (1,141).

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