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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

John H. Kahlbaugh

Counsel of record in 16 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(16 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Oct 2024 to Aug 2026

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

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 0

16Cases
0Contested
—Acquitted, contested cases (none)
—Partial acquittal, contested cases (none)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty16 (100%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement15 (94%)
  • No plea agreement0 (0%)
  • Not reported1 (6%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone16 (100%)

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted15 (94%)
  • No Result Posted1 (6%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

No contested cases

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (14 Convictions)

  • BCD8 of 14
  • DD4 of 14
  • No Punitive Discharge2 of 14

No Punitive Discharge

2 of 14 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement2 of 2
  • No plea agreement0 of 2
86%Punitive discharge, enlisted (12 of 14)
80%Confinement (12 of 15 convictions)
8 moMedian confinement
3.7 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128b Domestic violence7070
Art. 134 General article4040
Art. 107 False official statements1010
Art. 112 Drunkenness and other incapacitation1010
Art. 115 Communicating threats1010
Art. 119b Child endangerment1010
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1010
Art. 121 Larceny1010
Art. 127 Extortion1010
Art. 128 Assault1010
Charges not listed in the record1000

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Drum 5
  • Fort Stewart 4
  • Fort Meade 2
  • U.S. Army Military Academy 2
  • Joint Base Langley-Eustis 1
  • Fort Bragg 1
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst 1

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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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