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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

John E. Shutt

Counsel of record in 17 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(17 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Oct 2020 to Mar 2022

17Cases
17As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
8Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 5.6

17Cases
8Contested
38%Acquitted, contested cases (3 of 8)
25%Partial acquittal, contested cases (2 of 8)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty8 (47%)
  • Not Guilty7 (41%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (6%)
  • Not Reported1 (6%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement9 (53%)
  • No plea agreement5 (29%)
  • Not reported3 (18%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone10 (59%)
  • Enlisted Panel6 (35%)
  • Not Reported1 (6%)

Contested Panel Cases: 6 of 8

  • Enlisted Panel6 of 8
  • Officer Panel0 of 8

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted9 (53%)
  • Partial Acquittal2 (12%)
  • Acquitted3 (18%)
  • No Result Posted3 (18%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone2010
Enlisted Panel6113

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (11 Convictions)

  • BCD7 of 11
  • DD1 of 11
  • No Punitive Discharge3 of 11

No Punitive Discharge

3 of 11 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 3
  • No plea agreement2 of 3
73%Punitive discharge, enlisted (8 of 11)
55%Confinement (6 of 11 convictions)
9 moMedian confinement
3.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 134 General article6160
Art. 121 Larceny5150
Art. 128 Assault4232
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances3222
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault3313
Art. 80 Attempts2020
Art. 81 Conspiracy2120
Art. 107 False official statements1010
Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction1010
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1010
Charges not listed in the record3200

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Wainwright 8
  • Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson 7
  • Fort Campbell 1
  • Fort Irwin 1

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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