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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

Emily Lessin

Counsel of record in 17 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(17 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Nov 2022 to Sep 2024

17Cases
17As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
7Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 3.8

17Cases
7Contested
43%Acquitted, contested cases (3 of 7)
57%Partial acquittal, contested cases (4 of 7)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty10 (59%)
  • Not Guilty6 (35%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (6%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement10 (59%)
  • No plea agreement6 (35%)
  • Not reported1 (6%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone13 (76%)
  • Enlisted Panel2 (12%)
  • Not Reported2 (12%)

Contested Panel Cases: 2 of 7

  • Enlisted Panel2 of 7
  • Officer Panel0 of 7

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted10 (59%)
  • Partial Acquittal4 (24%)
  • Acquitted3 (18%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone3030
Enlisted Panel2011
Not Reported2002

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (13 Convictions)

  • BCD7 of 13
  • DD4 of 13
  • No Punitive Discharge2 of 13

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • No Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

2 of 13 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 2
  • No plea agreement1 of 2

Member Retained: 1 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • Plea agreement1 of 1
  • No plea agreement0 of 1
85%Punitive discharge, enlisted (11 of 13)
93%Confinement (13 of 14 convictions)
4 moMedian confinement
5.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault8544
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault5433
Art. 128b Domestic violence4222
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances3221
Art. 121 Larceny2020
Art. 134 General article2120
Art. 85 Desertion2020
Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle1010
Art. 115 Communicating threats1101
Art. 117a Wrongful broadcast of intimate visual images1101

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Carson 15
  • Fort Sill 2

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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