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Learn Your Lawyer · Air Force · Trial Counsel

Austin L. Jefferson

Counsel of record in 16 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(0 as defense counsel, 16 as trial counsel)
Mar 2023 to Jul 2024

16Cases
0As defense counsel
16As trial counsel
5Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 3.8

16Cases
5Contested
80%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 5)
—Partial acquittal, contested cases (none)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty11 (69%)
  • Not Guilty5 (31%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone12 (75%)
  • Enlisted Panel2 (12%)
  • Officer Panel2 (12%)

Contested Panel Cases: 4 of 5

  • Enlisted Panel2 of 5
  • Officer Panel2 of 5

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted12 (75%)
  • Acquitted4 (25%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone1001
Enlisted Panel2002
Officer Panel2101

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (11 Convictions)

  • BCD2 of 11
  • DD2 of 11
  • No Punitive Discharge7 of 11

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

7 of 11 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge7 of 11

Member Retained: 0 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • No dismissal0 of 1
36%Punitive discharge, enlisted (4 of 11)
100%Confinement (12 of 12 convictions)
3 moMedian confinement
2.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle3030
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation3030
Art. 128b Domestic violence2020
Art. 134 General article2020
Art. 86 AWOL2020
Art. 87a Resistance, flight, breach of arrest2020
Art. 107 False official statements1010
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances1010
Art. 114 Endangerment offenses1010
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1010
Charges not listed in the record4404

Where

  • JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey 16

More Air Force Lawyers

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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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