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
- By InstallationBases and regions, by time period
- By OffenseUCMJ articles, rising and falling charges
- By ServiceArmy, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps
- By YearWhat each year and month looked like
- SentencesConfinement, discharges, judge alone vs. members
- Counsel ExperiencePrior cases of the lawyers of record
- Law ChangesBefore and after the major reforms
- Episode CompanionsThe numbers behind podcast episodes
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.
Latest Analysis
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam vs. Federal Court in the District of Hawaii
Courts-martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam produced 13 convictions for child pornography (images of child exploitation) with trial dates from 2016 to 2024, from 3 services, and the median adjudged confinement was 18 months. In the District of Hawaii, 28 people were sentenced in federal court f
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington
The median adjudged confinement for the 12 child pornography (images of child exploitation) convictions at Joint Base Lewis-McChord courts-martial was 13 months, for trials from 2020 to 2025. People sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington for possessing, receiving, or distri
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Fort Hood vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Texas
Army courts-martial at Fort Hood ended in 17 convictions for child pornography (images of child exploitation) with trial dates from 2021 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 13 months. Federal court in the Western District of Texas sentenced 388 people for this offense in fiscal years 20
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
Army courts-martial at Fort Bragg produced 13 convictions for child pornography (images of child exploitation) with trial dates from 2021 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 10 months. Federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina sentenced 139 people under the matching guidel
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
At Camp Pendleton, 15 courts-martial from 2020 to 2025 ended in a conviction for child pornography (images of child exploitation), with a median adjudged confinement of 35 months. In the Southern District of California, which includes the base, 230 people were sentenced in federal court for this off
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina
Marine Corps courts-martial at Camp Lejeune recorded 38 convictions for child pornography (images of child exploitation) with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 22 months. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, 139 people were sentenced in federal court for th
Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington
Courts-martial tried at Bremerton, Washington produced 12 convictions for child pornography (images of child exploitation) from 2016 to 2025, with a median adjudged confinement of 32 months. In federal court for the whole Western District of Washington, 164 people were sentenced for the same kind of
Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
The longest obstruction of justice sentences in 2025 were at court-martial: a quarter of the 37 convictions carried confinement of 63.5 months or more, compared with 41 months or more for federal prison terms in fiscal year 2025. The medians were closer, at 16 months for courts-martial and 18 months
Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2024: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
Federal obstruction of justice sentences were longer than court-martial sentences in 2024. The median federal prison term in fiscal year 2024 was 27 months (2.2 years) for 148 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2, while the median court-martial confinement was 8.9 months across 43 convictions. Co
Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In federal fiscal year 2023, only 55% of the 163 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2 for obstruction of justice pleaded guilty, and 73 were convicted after a trial. Their median prison term was 24 months. At court-martial in 2023, 84% of the 31 obstruction convictions came from guilty pleas, and
Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2022: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
The median federal prison term for obstruction of justice in fiscal year 2022 was 21 months, among 111 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2. At court-martial in 2022, the median adjudged confinement was 14 months across 46 convictions. The share of cases with any confinement was about the same: 7
Obstruction of Justice Sentences in 2021: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In 2021 the court-martial records list 58 obstruction of justice convictions, with a median confinement of 10 months. Federal courts sentenced 85 people under guideline §2J1.2 in fiscal year 2021, and the median prison term was 18.3 months. Contested cases and trials led to longer sentences than gui
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