NewKnow Your Judge: the court-martial record of 294 military judges → NewLearn Your Lawyer: the court-martial record of 335 military lawyers →
Where All The Bodies Are Buried

Learn Your Lawyer · Air Force · Defense and Trial Counsel

James P. Ferrell

Counsel of record in 24 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(21 as defense counsel, 3 as trial counsel)
May 2016 to Oct 2024

24Cases
21As defense counsel
3As trial counsel
12Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 4.2

21Cases
12Contested
58%Acquitted, contested cases (7 of 12)
17%Partial acquittal, contested cases (2 of 12)

Pleas When Defending

  • Not Guilty7 (33%)
  • Not Reported14 (67%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone12 (57%)
  • Enlisted Panel2 (10%)
  • Officer Panel5 (24%)
  • Not Reported2 (10%)

Contested Panel Cases: 7 of 12

  • Enlisted Panel2 of 12
  • Officer Panel5 of 12

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted12 (57%)
  • Partial Acquittal2 (10%)
  • Acquitted7 (33%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone5005
Enlisted Panel2011
Officer Panel5311

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (12 Convictions)

  • DD7 of 12
  • No Punitive Discharge5 of 12

Officers and Warrant Officers (2 Convictions)

  • Dismissal2 of 2

No Punitive Discharge

5 of 12 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge5 of 12

Member Retained: 0 of 2 Officer Convictions

  • No dismissal0 of 2
58%Punitive discharge, enlisted (7 of 12)
86%Confinement (12 of 14 convictions)
1.7 yrsMedian confinement
35.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault6361
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances4240
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child2020
Art. 128 Assault2120
Art. 134 General article2020
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation2020
Art. 120a (former: Stalking)1110
Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct1010
Art. 121 Larceny1010
Art. 125 (former: Forcible sodomy and bestiality)1010
Charges not listed in the record7707

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 0

3Cases
0Contested
—Acquitted, contested cases (none)
—Partial acquittal, contested cases (none)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty3 (100%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone3 (100%)

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted3 (100%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

No contested cases

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (2 Convictions)

  • BCD1 of 2
  • No Punitive Discharge1 of 2

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • No Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

1 of 2 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge1 of 2

Member Retained: 1 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • No dismissal1 of 1
50%Punitive discharge, enlisted (1 of 2)
67%Confinement (2 of 3 convictions)
4 moMedian confinement
4 moLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances1010
Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle1010
Art. 128b Domestic violence1010
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation1010

Where

  • Tyndall AFB, Florida 4
  • Moody AFB, Georgia 3
  • Hurlburt Field, Florida 3
  • Shaw AFB, South Carolina 3
  • Tinker AFB, Oklahoma 2
  • Pope AAF, North Carolina 2
  • JB Charleston, South Carolina 2
  • Peterson SFB, Colorado 1

More Air Force 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. The records also write this name as James Peter Ferrell; those cases are counted here.

To report an error, email content@bodiesburied.com.

↑ Top