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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 Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020

    Federal judges sentenced 1,857 people for heroin trafficking in fiscal year 2020. For those sent to prison, the median prison term was 53.7 months (4.5 years), lower than the 60-month median for all drug trafficking that year. The 54 people convicted at trial had a median of 202 months, compared wit

  • Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019

    In fiscal year 2019, 2,484 people were sentenced in federal court for heroin trafficking, and their median prison term was 60 months (5 years). Within-range sentences and below-range sentences at the government's request were equally common, at 36% each. A mandatory minimum applied to 1,535 people (

  • Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018

    A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,455 of the 2,565 people sentenced for federal heroin trafficking in fiscal year 2018 (57%). The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as the median for all federal drug trafficking that year. 2,503 (98%) pleaded guilty.

  • Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017

    Federal courts sentenced 2,661 people for heroin trafficking in fiscal year 2017, and 2,602 of them (98%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 50 months after a guilty plea and 168 months for the 59 people convicted at trial. Across all heroin cases sent to prison that year, the median was 51

  • Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016

    In fiscal year 2016, 2,772 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking with heroin as the primary drug. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 48 months (4 years), lower than the 55 months for all federal drug trafficking that year. A mandatory minimum applied to 1,248 of

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025

    The 2,915 people sentenced in federal court for powder cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2025 had a median prison term of 60 months (5 years). Across all drug trafficking cases under guideline §2D1.1 that year, the median was 72 months, so powder cocaine terms were lower at the median. People convi

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024

    Federal courts sentenced 3,323 people for powder cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2024. Of those people, 69% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), lower than the 70-month median for all drug trafficking cases that year.

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023

    In fiscal year 2023, federal courts sentenced 3,347 people for powder cocaine trafficking, with a median prison term of 60 months (5 years). That median was lower than the 65 months for all drug trafficking cases sentenced under guideline §2D1.1 that year. A mandatory minimum applied to 71% of powde

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022

    Of the 3,303 people sentenced in federal court for powder cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2022, 3,225 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 91% of those pleas came with a written plea agreement. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years) overall. It was 60 months after a plea and 144 months after a trial

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021

    For the 2,763 people sentenced for federal powder cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2021, only 34% of sentences were within the guideline range. Another 34% were below the range at the government's request, and 30% were below it without one. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years).

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020

    Fiscal year 2020 had 2,519 people sentenced federally for powder cocaine trafficking, the lowest count in the 2016 to 2025 table. Their median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years), lower than the 60 months for all drug trafficking cases that year. The 57 people convicted at trial had a median of 18

  • Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019

    In fiscal year 2019, the middle prison term for the 3,430 people sentenced federally for powder cocaine trafficking was 60 months (5 years). A quarter of the prison terms were 30 months or less, and a quarter were 100 months or more. A mandatory minimum applied to 2,662 people (78%), higher than the

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