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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense and Trial Counsel

Matthew M. Jones

Counsel of record in 17 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(3 as defense counsel, 14 as trial counsel)
Nov 2021 to Mar 2026

17Cases
3As defense counsel
14As trial counsel
11Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 0

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

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty3 (100%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement2 (67%)
  • No plea agreement0 (0%)
  • Not reported1 (33%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone3 (100%)

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted2 (67%)
  • No Result Posted1 (33%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

No contested cases

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (2 Convictions)

  • BCD1 of 2
  • DD1 of 2

No Punitive Discharge

0 of 2 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge0 of 2
100%Punitive discharge, enlisted (2 of 2)
100%Confinement (2 of 2 convictions)
5.5 yrsMedian confinement
10.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child1010
Art. 131b Obstructing justice1010
Art. 134 General article1010
Art. 80 Attempts1010
Charges not listed in the record1000

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 4

14Cases
11Contested
27%Acquitted, contested cases (3 of 11)
64%Partial acquittal, contested cases (7 of 11)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty3 (21%)
  • Not Guilty9 (64%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (7%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (7%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement5 (36%)
  • No plea agreement9 (64%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone9 (64%)
  • Enlisted Panel4 (29%)
  • Not Reported1 (7%)

Contested Panel Cases: 4 of 11

  • Enlisted Panel4 of 11
  • Officer Panel0 of 11

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted4 (29%)
  • Partial Acquittal7 (50%)
  • Acquitted3 (21%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone6150
Enlisted Panel4022
Not Reported1001

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (10 Convictions)

  • BCD2 of 10
  • DD5 of 10
  • No Punitive Discharge3 of 10

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • No Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

3 of 10 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement2 of 3
  • No plea agreement1 of 3

Member Retained: 1 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • Plea agreement1 of 1
  • No plea agreement0 of 1
70%Punitive discharge, enlisted (7 of 10)
82%Confinement (9 of 11 convictions)
1.2 yrsMedian confinement
13.7 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128b Domestic violence6554
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault4414
Art. 107 False official statements3321
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3332
Art. 128 Assault3312
Art. 134 General article3230
Art. 115 Communicating threats2211
Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct2202
Art. 121 Larceny2220
Art. 129 Burglary; unlawful entry2211

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Sill 14
  • Joint Base Lewis-McChord 1
  • Fort Bliss 1
  • Fort Campbell 1

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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 Matt Jones; those cases are counted here.

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