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
Drug Distribution Convictions of Officers and Warrant Officers: Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
The records list only 10 convictions of officers and warrant officers for drug distribution, with trial dates from 2016 to 2023. All 10 were tried at a general court-martial, and the median adjudged confinement was 10.8 months. The federal median prison term was 65 months for 160,460 people sentence
Drug Distribution Convictions of NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
The court-martial records list 39 convictions of NCOs (E-5 to E-9) for drug distribution from 2016 to 2025. The median adjudged confinement was 5.4 months, and 92% of the convictions included confinement. In federal court, the median prison term was 65 months for 160,460 people sentenced in fiscal y
Drug Distribution Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
Courts-martial convicted 355 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) of drug distribution from 2016 to 2025. The median adjudged confinement was 4.9 months, and 96% of the convictions included confinement. The federal median prison term was 65 months for 160,460 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to
Drug Distribution Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
The Marine Corps records show 10 contested courts-martial for drug distribution that reached a verdict. None ended in a full acquittal (0%), and 3 (30%) ended in a partial acquittal. In federal court, 358 of 3,745 drug trafficking trials ended in an acquittal (10%).
Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
Of the 3,745 federal trials on drug trafficking charges that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 358 ended in an acquittal (10%). Of 19 contested Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial for drug distribution that reached a verdict, none ended in a full acquittal, and 8 (42%) ended in a partial a
Drug Distribution: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial
In federal drug trafficking cases, the median prison term was 63 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial. In courts-martial for drug distribution, the pattern was reversed: the median confinement was 5.9 months after a guilty plea and 3.9 months in contested cases that ended in convi
Guilty Pleas in Drug Distribution Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In federal drug trafficking cases, 98% of people sentenced pleaded guilty. Among 299 courts-martial charging drug distribution with a plea recorded, 79% were guilty pleas. Court-martial guilty pleas also varied widely by year, from 15% in 2018 to 94% in 2023.
Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
The Marine Corps had 80 convictions for drug distribution, and the median adjudged confinement was 10 months, the highest of the services. Federal court had a median prison term of 65 months for 160,460 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The groups differ in size and in what they count.
Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
Navy courts-martial convicted 48 people of drug distribution in the records, with a median adjudged confinement of 8 months. Federal court sentenced 160,460 people in the matching offense group during fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 65 months. The Navy group is small, so ea
Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
The Air Force has the largest set of drug distribution convictions among the services: 227 from 2016 to 2025, with a median adjudged confinement of 3.9 months. Federal court sentenced 160,460 people in the same offense group, with a median prison term of 65 months. The systems count different cases,
Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
The Army records show 53 convictions for drug distribution, with a median adjudged confinement of 4.9 months. In federal court, the median prison term for 160,460 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 65 months. The numbers count different kinds of cases, and the sections below explain w
Drug Use 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 drug cases. Court-martial convictions for wrongful drug use (Article 112a) numbered 194 for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 123 for trials in 2024 and 2025. The median confinement was 3 months in both periods. Federal law h
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