NewKnow Your Judge: the court-martial record of 294 military judges → NewLearn Your Lawyer: the court-martial record of 335 military lawyers →
Where All The Bodies Are Buried

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

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 Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025

    In the District of Vermont, 21% of sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 fell within the guideline range, compared with 48% across all 94 federal districts. The largest group, 46%, received a sentence below the range at the government's request. Of the 1,619 people sentenced, 99% pleaded guilty, an

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

    In the Western District of New York, people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 180 months in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with 37 months after a guilty plea. Across all 4,205 people sentenced, the median prison term was 41 months. For all 94 federal districts, it was 24 month

  • Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025

    In the Southern District of New York, 55% of sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were below the guideline range without a request from the government. Only 22% were within the range, compared with 48% for all 94 federal districts. The district sentenced 12,035 people, with a median prison term of

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

    In the Eastern District of New York, 877 of the 6,411 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (14%) received probation only. The share sent to prison, 84%, was lower than the 91% for all 94 federal districts. Those who did go to prison had a median term of 27 months, against 24 months national

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

    Immigration was the most common offense type in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,096 of the 3,763 people sentenced, or 29%. Their median prison term was 2.6 months. Across all offenses, the district's median prison term was 24 months, the same as for all 94 federal d

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

    Drug trafficking made up 49% of the 3,174 federal sentences in the District of Connecticut in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district's median prison term was 36 months, compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. Sentences below the guideline range without a government request were the mo

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025

    People sent to prison by the federal court in the District of Puerto Rico received a median prison term of 60 months (5 years) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median for all 94 federal districts was 24 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4,978 of the 9,794 people sentenced in Puerto

  • Federal Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025

    The District of Rhode Island sentenced 1,015 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The most common result, 44%, was a sentence below the guideline range that the government did not request, and only 22% of sentences were within the range. Across all 94 federal districts, 48% were within the range.

  • Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025

    Of 1,754 people sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,712 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 96% of those pleas came with a written plea agreement. The median prison term was 30 months. For all 94 federal districts, the guilty plea rate was 97% and the median prison term

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

    Federal judges in the District of Massachusetts sentenced 4,847 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Just 29% of those sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 48% for all 94 districts. The median prison term was 30 months, against 24 months nationally.

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

    In the District of Maine, 1,628 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 36 months. That is longer than the 24-month median for all 94 federal districts together. The largest group of Maine sentences, 41%, fell below the guideline range at t

  • Obstruction of Justice: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California

    Obstruction of justice convictions at courts-martial tried in San Diego carried a median adjudged confinement of 5.9 months across 27 convictions from 2016 to 2024. In the Southern District of California, the median federal prison term under guideline §2J1.2 was 18 months for the 12 of 18 people who

Go deeper: Military Trial Results (every case, members) · Know Your Judge · Learn Your Lawyer (free)

↑ Top