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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

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2025, 38 of 50 court-martial convictions for wrongful drug use (76%) included confinement, and the median adjudged confinement was 2.7 months. Federal court sentenced 122 people for simple possession in fiscal year 2025; 68 of them (56%) received a prison term, with a median of 0.4 months. Both c

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2024: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    At courts-martial in 2024, 84% of 73 convictions for wrongful drug use included confinement, with a median of 3 months, and 61% of the enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge. In federal fiscal year 2024, 58% of 128 people sentenced for simple possession received a prison term. Thei

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    The 2023 median for an Article 112a drug use conviction at court-martial was 2.8 months of confinement, across 70 convictions. The federal median prison term for simple possession in fiscal year 2023 was 1.1 months, across the 89 of 159 people sent to prison. Confinement was also more common at cour

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2022: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Of 124 court-martial convictions for wrongful drug use in 2022, 112 (90%) included confinement, and the median was 3 months. Federal court sentenced 339 people for simple possession in fiscal year 2022, and 47% of them went to prison, with a median prison term of 1 month. Probation alone was the fed

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2020: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Nearly every 2020 court-martial conviction for wrongful drug use included confinement: 95 of 98, or 97%, with a median of 3 months. In federal fiscal year 2020, 62% of the 484 people sentenced for simple possession went to prison, and their median prison term was 5.9 months. Guilty pleas were record

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2019: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2019, 90% of the 136 courts-martial ending in a drug use conviction under Article 112a included confinement. In federal fiscal year 2019, 56% of the 614 people sentenced for simple possession received a prison term. The median court-martial confinement was 3 months, lower than the federal median

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2018: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Service members convicted of drug use in 2018 were sentenced to confinement more often than federal simple possession defendants: 85% of 133 court-martial convictions compared with 64% of 820 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018. Probation alone was common in federal court, at 35%. The median term w

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2017: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Confinement rates for drug cases were close in 2017: 81% of the 153 Article 112a court-martial convictions included confinement, and 77% of the 1,343 people sentenced in federal court for simple possession received a prison term. The terms were not close. The median court-martial confinement was 3 m

  • Drug Use Sentences in 2016: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2016, 95 courts-martial ended in a conviction for wrongful drug use under Article 112a, and 94% of them included confinement, with a median of 3.9 months. In federal fiscal year 2016, 1,917 people were sentenced for simple possession under 21 U.S.C. 844, the nearest federal charge. Of those, 85%

  • Drug Possession Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Of the 20 enlisted members convicted of drug possession at courts-martial with 2025 trial dates, 15 received a punitive discharge (75%). 14 of the 21 convictions included confinement (67%), with a median of 3.8 months. In federal fiscal year 2025, 122 people were sentenced under 21 U.S.C. 844; 56% r

  • Drug Possession Sentences in 2024: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2024, 15 of the 22 court-martial convictions for drug possession with a sentence recorded included confinement (68%). The median confinement was 3 months. In federal fiscal year 2024, 74 of the 128 people sentenced under 21 U.S.C. 844 received a prison term (58%), and the median prison term was 0

  • Drug Possession Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Federal court sentenced 159 people under the simple possession statute in fiscal year 2023. 56% received a prison term, with a median of 1.1 months. Courts-martial with 2023 trial dates recorded 30 drug possession convictions, 93% included confinement, and the median confinement was 2.6 months.

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