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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense and Trial Counsel

Cadence L. Coffin

Counsel of record in 19 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(6 as defense counsel, 13 as trial counsel)
Sep 2020 to Apr 2023

19Cases
6As defense counsel
13As trial counsel
14Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 4

6Cases
4Contested
100%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 4)
—Partial acquittal, contested cases (none)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty2 (33%)
  • Not Guilty4 (67%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement2 (33%)
  • No plea agreement4 (67%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone3 (50%)
  • Enlisted Panel3 (50%)

Contested Panel Cases: 3 of 4

  • Enlisted Panel3 of 4
  • Officer Panel0 of 4

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted2 (33%)
  • Acquitted4 (67%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone1001
Enlisted Panel3003

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (2 Convictions)

  • BCD2 of 2

No Punitive Discharge

0 of 2 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge0 of 2
100%Punitive discharge, enlisted (2 of 2)
100%Confinement (2 of 2 convictions)
2 moMedian confinement
2 moLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault3303
Art. 128 Assault3303
Art. 134 General article2020
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1101
Art. 129 Burglary; unlawful entry1010
Art. 86 AWOL1101

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 8.9

13Cases
10Contested
40%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 10)
40%Partial acquittal, contested cases (4 of 10)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty3 (23%)
  • Not Guilty8 (62%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (8%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (8%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement4 (31%)
  • No plea agreement8 (62%)
  • Not reported1 (8%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone9 (69%)
  • Enlisted Panel4 (31%)

Contested Panel Cases: 4 of 10

  • Enlisted Panel4 of 10
  • Officer Panel0 of 10

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted5 (38%)
  • Partial Acquittal4 (31%)
  • Acquitted4 (31%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone6231
Enlisted Panel4013

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (9 Convictions)

  • BCD3 of 9
  • DD3 of 9
  • No Punitive Discharge3 of 9

No Punitive Discharge

3 of 9 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 3
  • No plea agreement1 of 3
  • Not reported1 of 3
67%Punitive discharge, enlisted (6 of 9)
67%Confinement (6 of 9 convictions)
2.0 yrsMedian confinement
5.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault10856
Art. 134 General article5433
Art. 128 Assault3322
Art. 128b Domestic violence3323
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation3330
Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment2202
Art. 107 False official statements1101
Art. 115 Communicating threats1101
Art. 121 Larceny1111

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Camp Humphreys 13
  • Kaiserslautern (Europe) 6

More Army Lawyers

Know Your Judge

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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