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
Sexual Abuse of an Adult Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
Junior enlisted service members (E-1 to E-4) accounted for 526 court-martial convictions of sexual abuse of an adult from 2016 to 2025. The median adjudged confinement was 24 months, the same as for all ranks together, which had 901 convictions. The federal median prison term for 531 people sentence
Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
The Marine Corps had 36 contested courts-martial for sexual abuse of an adult that reached a verdict from 2017 to 2025, and 5 ended in a full acquittal (14%). Another 11 (31%) were partial acquittals. In federal court, 79 of 276 trials ended in an acquittal (29%). The Marine Corps count is small, so
Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial
The Navy had 143 full acquittals among 236 contested courts-martial for sexual abuse of an adult that reached a verdict from 2016 to 2025 (61%). Federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 2241 to 2244 ended in an acquittal in 79 of 276 cases (29%). Most Navy cases in this count do not list who decided guilt, wh
Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
In the Army, 157 of 348 contested courts-martial for sexual abuse of an adult that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (45%), from trial dates in 2020 to 2025. In federal court, 79 of 276 trials ended in an acquittal (29%). The Army figure counts contested cases, and the federal figure count
Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
Of 620 contested Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial for sexual abuse of an adult that reached a verdict from 2016 to 2025, 305 ended in a full acquittal (49%). In federal court, 79 of 276 trials under 18 U.S.C. 2241 to 2244 ended in an acquittal (29%). The groups are not counted the same wa
Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial
In courts-martial for sexual abuse of an adult, the median confinement was 22 months after a guilty plea and 26.8 months in contested cases ending in conviction. In federal court, the median prison term was 63 months after a guilty plea and 131.5 months after a trial. The sources define a trial diff
Guilty Pleas in Sexual Abuse of an Adult Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In courts-martial charging sexual abuse of an adult, 364 of the 1,162 with a plea recorded (31%) were guilty pleas. In federal court, 462 of 531 people sentenced (87%) pleaded guilty. Both systems resolve some cases without a trial, but the courts-martial group counts charged cases and the federal g
Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
Marine Corps courts-martial produced 180 convictions for sexual abuse of an adult in the records, and 113 of the 144 with a plea recorded (78%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement was 24 months, compared with a federal median prison term of 74 months for 531 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025
Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
The Navy median adjudged confinement for 178 convictions of sexual abuse of an adult was 30 months, from trials in 2016 to 2025. The federal median prison term for 531 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 74 months. Navy courts-martial and federal court define their groups differently,
Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
Air Force courts-martial convicted 208 people of sexual abuse of an adult from 2016 to 2025, and 184 of them (88%) received confinement. The median confinement was 29.6 months, compared with a federal median prison term of 74 months for 531 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The federal
Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
The median confinement for Army courts-martial that ended in a conviction for sexual abuse of an adult was 22 months, with 335 convictions counted. In federal court, the median prison term for the 531 people sentenced for a comparable offense in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 74 months. The groups ar
Producing Child Pornography Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
It may be too early to tell what the 2023 military sentencing reform changed for producing child pornography (images of child exploitation). The median court-martial confinement was 41.4 months for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 119.9 months for trials in 2024 and 2025. The federal median prison term w
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