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
18 U.S.C. 2114, Mail, money, or other property of United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
None of the 8 federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 2114 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 ended in an acquittal (0 of 8). Of the 204 defendants whose cases ended with this section as the most serious charge, 184 (90%) pleaded guilty and 192 (94%) were convicted. Of those convicted, 187 (97%) received a prison
18 U.S.C. 1704, Keys or locks stolen or reproduced: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Among 205 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 18 U.S.C. 1704, 191 (93%) were convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, all of them by guilty plea. 140 of those 191 (73%) received a prison term on this charge, and the median term was 15 months. Only 1 case went
18 U.S.C. 1035, False statements relating to health care matters: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Guilty pleas ended 186 of the 206 federal cases (90%) in which 18 U.S.C. 1035 was the most serious charge at the end of the case, over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Just 6 went to trial, and 2 of those ended in an acquittal. Of the 190 people convicted, 91 (48%) received a prison term on that charge, w
16 U.S.C. 703, Taking, killing, or possessing migratory birds unlawful: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 206 federal defendants had a case end with 16 U.S.C. 703 as the most serious remaining charge, and 155 (75%) of those charges were Class A misdemeanors. 178 (86%) pleaded guilty. Only 9 went to trial, and 5 of those 9 trials ended in an acquittal, all of them bench tria
29 U.S.C. 501, Fiduciary responsibility of officers of labor organizations: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 206 federal defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under 29 U.S.C. 501, 185 (90%) pleaded guilty and 19 (9%) had their cases dismissed in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Only 2 went to trial, and neither ended in an acquittal. Every one of the 206 charges was a felony, and 75
18 U.S.C. 842, Unlawful acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Under 18 U.S.C. 842, 136 of the 190 defendants convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (72%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 29 months (2.4 years). In all, 208 federal defendants had this section as their most serious charge when the case ended. Of them, 185 (89%) plead
18 U.S.C. 876, Mailing threatening communications: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of the 192 people convicted under 18 U.S.C. 876 in federal cases that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 170 (89%) received a prison term on that charge. The median term was 42 months (3.5 years) for those with a term of 1 month or more. Most of the 214 defendants pleaded guilty (84%), and 5 of 17
21 U.S.C. 848, Continuing criminal enterprise: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
None of the 39 federal trials on a most serious charge under 21 U.S.C. 848 ended in an acquittal in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 215 defendants counted, 118 (55%) pleaded guilty, 58 (27%) had their cases dismissed, and 39 (18%) went to trial. Among those with a prison term, the median was 240 m
18 U.S.C. 2242, Sexual abuse: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 44 federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 2242 that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 21 ended in an acquittal (48%). Those trials came from 227 defendants in all, and most of the 227 pleaded guilty: 161, or 71%. Of the 184 convicted, 182 (99%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median was
18 U.S.C. 513, Securities of the States and private entities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 227 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with 18 U.S.C. 513 as the most serious charge, 196 (86%) pleaded guilty and 30 (13%) had their charges dismissed. Only 1 went to trial. Of the 197 convicted, 152 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years
18 U.S.C. 911, Citizen of the United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
None of the 234 federal defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 911 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 went to trial. Guilty pleas ended 220 cases (94%), and 14 (6%) were dismissed. Of the 220 convicted, 213 (97%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 6 months.
18 U.S.C. 1382, Entering military, naval, or Coast Guard property: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Every one of the 241 federal cases that ended under 18 U.S.C. 1382 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was recorded as a petty offense. Guilty pleas ended 232 of them (96%), and only 1 went to trial. Few of those convicted received a prison term on this charge: 21 of 233 (9%), with a median term of 2 month
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