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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

  • Guilty Pleas in 2020: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2020, the Army appears in the court-martial data for the first time, and 465 of 663 courts-martial with a recorded plea (70%) were guilty pleas. In federal court in fiscal year 2020, 63,157 of 64,565 people sentenced (98%) pleaded guilty.

  • Guilty Pleas in 2019: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    The 2019 row has the largest federal count in the table: 76,538 people sentenced in fiscal year 2019, of whom 74,709 (98%) pleaded guilty. Courts-martial with a 2019 trial date and a recorded plea numbered 539, and 329 (61%) were guilty pleas.

  • Guilty Pleas in 2018: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In fiscal year 2018, 71% of federal guilty pleas among people sentenced had a written plea agreement, and 67,610 of 69,425 sentenced people (97%) pleaded guilty. In courts-martial with a 2018 trial date and a plea on record, 336 of 575 (58%) were guilty pleas.

  • Guilty Pleas in 2017: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Federal trials in fiscal year 2017 ended in acquittal in 276 of 1,874 cases (15%), and the rate was higher in bench trials than in jury trials. For guilty pleas, 361 of 578 courts-martial with a plea on record (62%) ended that way in 2017, compared with 97% of 66,873 people sentenced in federal cour

  • Guilty Pleas in 2016: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    In 2016, 176 of 356 courts-martial with a plea on record (49%) ended in a guilty plea. That is the lowest figure for any year in the table below. In federal court in fiscal year 2016, 65,893 of 67,742 people sentenced (97%) pleaded guilty, and 68,459 of 77,318 defendants whose cases ended (89%) did

  • Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

    Marine Corps courts-martial had the highest guilty plea rate of the services in this data: 1,373 of 1,663 cases with a recorded plea (83%) from 2016 to 2025. The rate was 97% to 100% from 2017 to 2020 and 61% in 2025. Federal court recorded 97% guilty pleas among people sentenced in fiscal years 201

  • Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

    In the Navy data, 1,306 of 1,930 courts-martial with a plea on record (68%) ended in a guilty plea from 2016 to 2025. Federal courts recorded 97% guilty pleas among people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The Navy rate was 73% in 2016 and 65% in 2025, and the lowest yearly figure was 60%.

  • Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

    Air Force courts-martial had the lowest guilty plea rate of any service in this data: 704 of 1,940 cases with a recorded plea (36%) from 2016 to 2025. In federal court, 97% of people sentenced pleaded guilty in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Air Force plea information is missing for most trials before 2

  • Guilty Plea Rates: Federal Court vs. Army Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

    Of 2,493 Army courts-martial with a trial date from 2016 to 2025 and a plea on record, 1,730 (69%) ended in a guilty plea. In federal court, 642,522 of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (97%) pleaded guilty. The Army rate is lower than the federal rate, and it was 80% in 2025 for

  • Obstruction of Justice: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial

    For obstruction of justice, the median sentence was longer after a trial than after a guilty plea in both systems. In courts-martial under Article 131b from 2016 to 2025, the median confinement was 9 months after a guilty plea and 21 months in contested cases ending in conviction. In federal court,

  • Guilty Pleas in Obstruction of Justice Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Guilty pleas were 69% of the 338 obstruction of justice (Article 131b) courts-martial with a plea recorded from 2016 to 2025: 232 cases. In federal court, 82% of the 1,256 people sentenced under guideline §2J1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had pleaded guilty. The federal rate was higher overall, an

  • Guilty Pleas in Kidnapping Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial

    Guilty pleas were far more common in federal kidnapping cases than in courts-martial. In federal court, 83% of the 1,075 people sentenced under guideline §2A4.1 pleaded guilty, and 69% of 944 defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 1201 pleaded guilty. In courts-martial charging kidnapping, 8 of 24 cases

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