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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.

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Latest Analysis

  • Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016

    In fiscal year 2016, 6,567 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking where methamphetamine was the primary drug. The median prison term was 70 months (5.8 years), and a mandatory minimum applied to 3,651 of them (56%). Nearly all of them pleaded guilty: 6,424, or 98%.

  • Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025

    In the Middle District of Louisiana, 35% of guilty pleas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were straight pleas, entered without a written plea agreement. The district sentenced 1,289 people in those years. Those sent to prison received a median term of 37 months (3.1 years), compared with 24 months for a

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Alaska, FY2016–2025

    Only 30% of federal sentences in the District of Alaska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 fell within the guideline range, compared with 48% for all 94 federal districts. The median prison term in Alaska was 48 months (4 years), higher than the 24-month median nationwide. The district sentenced 1,598 peo

  • Federal Sentences in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, FY2016–2025

    In the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, the median prison term for people sent to prison in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 8 months. The median for all 94 federal districts together was 24 months. Immigration was the most common offense type in this district, with 72 of the 185 people senten

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Guam, FY2016–2025

    The federal court in the District of Guam sentenced 420 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 312 of them (74%) received a prison term. For all 94 federal districts together, 91% were sent to prison. The median prison term in Guam was 33 months (2.8 years), higher than the 24-month median for all

  • Federal Sentences in the District of the Virgin Islands, FY2016–2025

    In the District of the Virgin Islands, 70% of federal sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were within the guideline range, compared with 48% for all 94 federal districts. The district is small: 648 people were sentenced in those years. The median prison term was 33 months, and 90% of people plead

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Columbia, FY2016–2025

    Of the 3,336 people sentenced in federal court in the District of Columbia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 383 were convicted at trial. The guilty plea share was 89%, lower than the 97% for all 94 federal districts. The median prison term was 36 months, compared with 24 months nationwide.

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Wyoming, FY2016–2025

    The District of Wyoming sentenced 1,828 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and judges ordered restitution for 846 of them, or 46%. People sent to prison in Wyoming received a median term of 44 months, compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. Drug trafficking was the most common offens

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025

    In the District of Utah, 62% of sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were below the guideline range because the government asked for a lower sentence. Only 24% were within the range, compared with 48% across all 94 federal districts. Utah sentenced 7,061 people in those years, with a median prison

  • Federal Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025

    In the Western District of Oklahoma, judges gave a sentence below the guideline range without a government request to 34% of the people with guideline information in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Below-range sentences that the government requested were 12%. The district sentenced 4,661 people, and the

  • Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025

    People sent to prison in the Eastern District of Oklahoma in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a median term of 60 months, or 5 years. For all 94 federal districts, the median was 24 months. The district sentenced 1,562 people, and murder, manslaughter, and sexual abuse cases each made up 3% or mor

  • Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025

    The Northern District of Oklahoma sentenced 3,400 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 2,607 of them were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months, compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. People convicted at trial had a median prison term of 180

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