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
§2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Of 2,895 people sentenced under §2T1.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 63% received prison and 26% received probation only. The median prison term was 14 months. 88% were ordered to pay restitution.
§2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3,269 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A3.5, failure to register as a sex offender. 96% received prison, the median prison term was 18 months, and 99% pleaded guilty. A mandatory minimum applied to 5 people.
§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Guideline §2G1.3 had a median prison term of 120 months among 3,908 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A mandatory minimum applied to 72%, and 17% received supervised release for life.
§2S1.1 Laundering of Monetary Instruments: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Guideline §2S1.1 covers money laundering. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10,282 people were sentenced under it in federal court, 90% received prison, and the median prison term was 48 months. 47% were sentenced below the range at the government's request.
§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Federal courts sentenced 14,661 people under the robbery guideline, §2B3.1, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 99% received prison, and the median prison term was 92 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 40%, and the median after a trial was 204 months.
§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
The median prison term under §2L1.1 was 12 months for the 35,550 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 88% received prison, 99% pleaded guilty, and a mandatory minimum applied to 2%.
§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Under §2K2.1, 74,599 people were sentenced in federal court from fiscal year 2016 to 2025. 94% received prison, and the median prison term was 40 months. After a trial the median was 87 months.
§2L1.2 Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Federal courts sentenced 158,846 people under §2L1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 97% received prison, with a median prison term of 7 months, and more than 99% pleaded guilty. A mandatory minimum applied to only 60 people.
§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 181,468 people were sentenced in federal court under §2D1.1, the guideline for drug manufacturing, importing, exporting, and trafficking. 96% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 60 months. 98% pleaded guilty, and a mandatory minimum prison term applie
No Confinement: Federal Probation Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
Of 1,836 Marine Corps convictions with a sentence recorded, 293 (16%) had no confinement, with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. Of those 293, 240 (82%) came from a special court-martial. In federal court, 46,079 of 659,036 people sentenced (7%) received probation only in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
No Confinement: Federal Probation Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial
The share of Navy convictions with no confinement was 10% in 2016 and 37% in 2025. For trial dates from 2016 to 2025, 321 of 1,681 Navy convictions with a sentence recorded (19%) had no confinement. In federal court over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 7% of people sentenced received probation only.
No Confinement: Federal Probation Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial
The Air Force recorded 2,168 convictions with a sentence recorded, with trial dates from 2016 to 2025, and 317 of them (15%) had no confinement. Federal court gave probation only to 46,079 of 659,036 people sentenced (7%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The Air Force share was higher than the federal
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