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Learn Your Lawyer · Air Force · Trial Counsel

Benjamin C. Signer

Counsel of record in 16 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(0 as defense counsel, 16 as trial counsel)
Jun 2016 to Apr 2022

16Cases
0As defense counsel
16As trial counsel
11Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 1.9

16Cases
11Contested
9%Acquitted, contested cases (1 of 11)
27%Partial acquittal, contested cases (3 of 11)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty2 (12%)
  • Not Guilty10 (62%)
  • Not Reported4 (25%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone7 (44%)
  • Enlisted Panel3 (19%)
  • Officer Panel6 (38%)

Contested Panel Cases: 9 of 11

  • Enlisted Panel3 of 11
  • Officer Panel6 of 11

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted12 (75%)
  • Partial Acquittal3 (19%)
  • Acquitted1 (6%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone2020
Enlisted Panel3201
Officer Panel6510

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (15 Convictions)

  • BCD3 of 15
  • DD3 of 15
  • No Punitive Discharge9 of 15

No Punitive Discharge

9 of 15 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge9 of 15
40%Punitive discharge, enlisted (6 of 15)
87%Confinement (13 of 15 convictions)
4 moMedian confinement
4.4 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances105100
Art. 134 General article4340
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault3332
Art. 107 False official statements2020
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation2120
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1110
Art. 128 Assault1111
Art. 86 AWOL1010
Charges not listed in the record1101

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona 7
  • Ft Meade, Maryland 6
  • Peterson SFB, Colorado 3

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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