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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

Adam D. Kostik

Counsel of record in 17 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(17 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Dec 2020 to Apr 2026

17Cases
17As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
1Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 0.2

17Cases
1Contested
0%Acquitted, contested cases (0 of 1)
100%Partial acquittal, contested cases (1 of 1)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty16 (94%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (6%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement16 (94%)
  • No plea agreement0 (0%)
  • Not reported1 (6%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone17 (100%)

Contested Panel Cases: 0 of 1

  • Enlisted Panel0 of 1
  • Officer Panel0 of 1

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted15 (88%)
  • Partial Acquittal1 (6%)
  • No Result Posted1 (6%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone1010

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (13 Convictions)

  • BCD3 of 13
  • DD3 of 13
  • No Punitive Discharge7 of 13

Officers and Warrant Officers (3 Convictions)

  • No Dismissal3 of 3

No Punitive Discharge

7 of 13 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement7 of 7
  • No plea agreement0 of 7

Member Retained: 3 of 3 Officer Convictions

  • Plea agreement3 of 3
  • No plea agreement0 of 3
46%Punitive discharge, enlisted (6 of 13)
94%Confinement (15 of 16 convictions)
4 moMedian confinement
18.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault5151
Art. 128b Domestic violence3030
Art. 134 General article3030
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation3030
Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle2120
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault2020
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances1010
Art. 118 Murder1010
Art. 81 Conspiracy1010
Art. 82 Soliciting1010
Charges not listed in the record1000

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Kaiserslautern (Europe) 5
  • Fort Carson 3
  • Fort Leavenworth 3
  • Camp Kosciuszko, Poland (Europe) 1
  • Vicenza (Europe) 1
  • Fort Knox 1
  • Fort Campbell 1
  • Fort Sill 1

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Counsel of record means this lawyer is listed as defense counsel or trial counsel in the public record of the case. Most cases list more than one lawyer on each side, and the records do not say who led or who argued, so the numbers describe cases this lawyer was counsel on, not individual wins or losses. Pages cover military counsel only; civilian counsel appear in lists by name. Percentages are shown for every count, however small, so check the number of cases behind each one. The Army records say whether there was a plea agreement, not what it said; Air Force records do not report plea agreements, and many Air Force records from 2016 to 2020 do not list the plea. In the article tables one case counts under each article charged, and Air Force records rarely list the charges in cases that ended in acquittal (those show as Charges not listed in the record). Member Retained means the sentence did not include a punitive discharge; it does not rule out a later administrative separation. Mixed Plea* means the record lists a guilty plea but the case ended in a partial acquittal, so at least one charge was contested (a mixed plea, or a guilty plea to a lesser offense). Contested cases are those with a not guilty or mixed plea, plus any case that ended in an acquittal or partial acquittal even when the record does not list the plea.

Source: public records of trial published by each service under Article 140a, UCMJ, as collected for the Military Trial Results page (data updated October 29, 2026). Counts reflect only the cases in this data and may be incomplete. Names are shown as published in the source records.

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