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

Matthew I. Fine

Counsel of record in 28 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(6 as defense counsel, 22 as trial counsel)
Feb 2021 to Dec 2025

28Cases
6As defense counsel
22As trial counsel
14Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 6

6Cases
6Contested
17%Acquitted, contested cases (1 of 6)
17%Partial acquittal, contested cases (1 of 6)

Pleas When Defending

  • Not Guilty5 (83%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (17%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement1 (17%)
  • No plea agreement5 (83%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone4 (67%)
  • Enlisted Panel2 (33%)

Contested Panel Cases: 2 of 6

  • Enlisted Panel2 of 6
  • Officer Panel0 of 6

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted4 (67%)
  • Partial Acquittal1 (17%)
  • Acquitted1 (17%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone4211
Enlisted Panel2200

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (5 Convictions)

  • BCD2 of 5
  • DD3 of 5

No Punitive Discharge

0 of 5 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge0 of 5
100%Punitive discharge, enlisted (5 of 5)
80%Confinement (4 of 5 convictions)
3.4 yrsMedian confinement
4.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault3321
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1110
Art. 121 Larceny1111
Art. 128 Assault1110
Art. 131 Perjury1101
Art. 134 General article1101
Art. 86 AWOL1110
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation1101

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 2.4

22Cases
8Contested
12%Acquitted, contested cases (1 of 8)
62%Partial acquittal, contested cases (5 of 8)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty14 (64%)
  • Not Guilty5 (23%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (5%)
  • Mixed Plea*2 (9%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement16 (73%)
  • No plea agreement5 (23%)
  • Not reported1 (5%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone18 (82%)
  • Enlisted Panel3 (14%)
  • Officer Panel1 (5%)

Contested Panel Cases: 4 of 8

  • Enlisted Panel3 of 8
  • Officer Panel1 of 8

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted16 (73%)
  • Partial Acquittal5 (23%)
  • Acquitted1 (5%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone4130
Enlisted Panel3111
Officer Panel1010

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (18 Convictions)

  • BCD6 of 18
  • DD8 of 18
  • No Punitive Discharge4 of 18

Officers and Warrant Officers (3 Convictions)

  • Dismissal1 of 3
  • No Dismissal2 of 3

No Punitive Discharge

4 of 18 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement4 of 4
  • No plea agreement0 of 4

Member Retained: 2 of 3 Officer Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 2
  • No plea agreement1 of 2
78%Punitive discharge, enlisted (14 of 18)
90%Confinement (19 of 21 convictions)
7 moMedian confinement
lifeLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault8272
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault6360
Art. 128b Domestic violence5241
Art. 134 General article5250
Art. 80 Attempts4323
Art. 119b Child endangerment3121
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3121
Art. 121 Larceny3321
Art. 118 Murder2202
Art. 122 Robbery2220

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Leonard Wood 21
  • Fort Hood 6
  • Fort Bliss 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.

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

↑ Top