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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense and Trial Counsel

Matthew Morris

Counsel of record in 16 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(14 as defense counsel, 2 as trial counsel)
Sep 2022 to Jul 2024

16Cases
14As defense counsel
2As trial counsel
7Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 3.8

14Cases
7Contested
29%Acquitted, contested cases (2 of 7)
57%Partial acquittal, contested cases (4 of 7)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty7 (50%)
  • Not Guilty7 (50%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement7 (50%)
  • No plea agreement7 (50%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone10 (71%)
  • Enlisted Panel3 (21%)
  • Not Reported1 (7%)

Contested Panel Cases: 3 of 7

  • Enlisted Panel3 of 7
  • Officer Panel0 of 7

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted8 (57%)
  • Partial Acquittal4 (29%)
  • Acquitted2 (14%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone3120
Enlisted Panel3021
Not Reported1001

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (12 Convictions)

  • BCD4 of 12
  • DD4 of 12
  • No Punitive Discharge4 of 12

No Punitive Discharge

4 of 12 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement4 of 4
  • No plea agreement0 of 4
67%Punitive discharge, enlisted (8 of 12)
100%Confinement (12 of 12 convictions)
7 moMedian confinement
10.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault4414
Art. 128 Assault4322
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3231
Art. 134 General article3130
Art. 107 False official statements2211
Art. 115 Communicating threats2211
Art. 128b Domestic violence2221
Art. 85 Desertion2020
Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction1110
Art. 119b Child endangerment1110

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 0

2Cases
0Contested
—Acquitted, contested cases (none)
—Partial acquittal, contested cases (none)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty2 (100%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement2 (100%)
  • No plea agreement0 (0%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone2 (100%)

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted2 (100%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

No contested cases

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (2 Convictions)

  • BCD2 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)
17 daysMedian confinement
30 daysLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128b Domestic violence2020
Art. 131b Obstructing justice1010
Art. 91 Insubordinate conduct toward NCO1010

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

  • Matthew M. Jones 8
  • George Yates 6
  • Dakota Lee 3
  • Amanda Perone 2
  • Matthew Bosakowski 2
  • Bhargav Katikaneni 1
  • Bridget Reineking 1
  • Christina Lowry 1

Where

  • Fort Sill 16

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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.

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