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 · Army · Defense and Trial Counsel

Kristofher R. Beralo

Counsel of record in 23 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(4 as defense counsel, 19 as trial counsel)
Oct 2020 to Aug 2026

23Cases
4As defense counsel
19As trial counsel
12Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 2

4Cases
2Contested
50%Acquitted, contested cases (1 of 2)
50%Partial acquittal, contested cases (1 of 2)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty2 (50%)
  • Not Guilty2 (50%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement2 (50%)
  • No plea agreement2 (50%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone3 (75%)
  • Enlisted Panel1 (25%)

Contested Panel Cases: 1 of 2

  • Enlisted Panel1 of 2
  • Officer Panel0 of 2

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted2 (50%)
  • Partial Acquittal1 (25%)
  • Acquitted1 (25%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone1001
Enlisted Panel1010

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (3 Convictions)

  • BCD2 of 3
  • No Punitive Discharge1 of 3

No Punitive Discharge

1 of 3 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement0 of 1
  • No plea agreement1 of 1
67%Punitive discharge, enlisted (2 of 3)
100%Confinement (3 of 3 convictions)
2.0 yrsMedian confinement
3.3 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault1111
Art. 128 Assault1010
Art. 134 General article1010
Art. 86 AWOL1101
Art. 89 Disrespect toward superior officer; assault of superior officer1101

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 1.7

19Cases
10Contested
40%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 10)
30%Partial acquittal, contested cases (3 of 10)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty9 (47%)
  • Not Guilty8 (42%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (5%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (5%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement10 (53%)
  • No plea agreement7 (37%)
  • Not reported2 (11%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone12 (63%)
  • Enlisted Panel6 (32%)
  • Officer Panel1 (5%)

Contested Panel Cases: 7 of 10

  • Enlisted Panel6 of 10
  • Officer Panel1 of 10

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted11 (58%)
  • Partial Acquittal3 (16%)
  • Acquitted4 (21%)
  • No Result Posted1 (5%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone3120
Enlisted Panel6113
Officer Panel1001

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (13 Convictions)

  • BCD6 of 13
  • DD5 of 13
  • No Punitive Discharge2 of 13

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

2 of 13 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 2
  • No plea agreement0 of 2
  • Not reported1 of 2

Member Retained: 0 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • No dismissal0 of 1
85%Punitive discharge, enlisted (11 of 13)
93%Confinement (13 of 14 convictions)
1.8 yrsMedian confinement
11.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault8745
Art. 128 Assault8753
Art. 134 General article5050
Art. 128b Domestic violence2111
Art. 107 False official statements1101
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1010
Art. 121 Larceny1110
Art. 80 Attempts1010
Art. 82 Soliciting1010
Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer1010
Charges not listed in the record1100

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Camp Humphreys 11
  • Wheeler Army Airfield 3
  • Fort Irwin 3
  • Fort Bragg 3
  • Camp Henry 1
  • Presidio of Monterey 1
  • Fort Lee 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. The records also write this name as Kristopher R. Beralo; those cases are counted here.

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

↑ Top