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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

Michael B. Brinkley

Counsel of record in 25 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(25 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Feb 2023 to May 2025

25Cases
25As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
4Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 1.8

25Cases
4Contested
0%Acquitted, contested cases (0 of 4)
50%Partial acquittal, contested cases (2 of 4)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty21 (84%)
  • Not Guilty3 (12%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (4%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement21 (84%)
  • No plea agreement3 (12%)
  • Not reported1 (4%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone24 (96%)
  • Enlisted Panel1 (4%)

Contested Panel Cases: 1 of 4

  • Enlisted Panel1 of 4
  • Officer Panel0 of 4

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted23 (92%)
  • Partial Acquittal2 (8%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone3120
Enlisted Panel1100

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (25 Convictions)

  • BCD12 of 25
  • DD9 of 25
  • No Punitive Discharge3 of 25
  • Dismissal1 of 25

No Punitive Discharge

3 of 25 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement2 of 3
  • No plea agreement1 of 3
84%Punitive discharge, enlisted (21 of 25)
76%Confinement (19 of 25 convictions)
6 moMedian confinement
26.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault7270
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault5150
Art. 134 General article5050
Art. 80 Attempts4040
Art. 121 Larceny3030
Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle2020
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child2020
Art. 128b Domestic violence2020
Art. 107 False official statements1010
Art. 114 Endangerment offenses1010
Charges not listed in the record1110

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Hood 20
  • Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston 4
  • Fort Bliss 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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