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Learn Your Lawyer · Air Force · Defense Counsel

Ross A. Brennan

Counsel of record in 19 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(19 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Nov 2016 to Jul 2019

19Cases
19As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
12Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 4.5

19Cases
12Contested
33%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 12)
25%Partial acquittal, contested cases (3 of 12)

Pleas When Defending

  • Not Guilty10 (53%)
  • Not Reported9 (47%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone9 (47%)
  • Enlisted Panel3 (16%)
  • Officer Panel7 (37%)

Contested Panel Cases: 10 of 12

  • Enlisted Panel3 of 12
  • Officer Panel7 of 12

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted12 (63%)
  • Partial Acquittal3 (16%)
  • Acquitted4 (21%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone2020
Enlisted Panel3102
Officer Panel7412

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (14 Convictions)

  • BCD5 of 14
  • DD6 of 14
  • No Punitive Discharge2 of 14
  • Dismissal1 of 14

Officers and Warrant Officers (1 Conviction)

  • No Dismissal1 of 1

No Punitive Discharge

2 of 14 Enlisted Convictions

  • No punitive discharge2 of 14

Member Retained: 1 of 1 Officer Conviction

  • No dismissal1 of 1
79%Punitive discharge, enlisted (11 of 14)
93%Confinement (14 of 15 convictions)
1.6 yrsMedian confinement
14.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault7361
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault5450
Art. 134 General article5350
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances3130
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child2220
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation2220
Art. 119 Manslaughter1110
Charges not listed in the record4404

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • FE Warren AFB, Wyoming 3
  • Buckley SFB, Colorado 3
  • USAF Academy, Colorado 2
  • Barksdale AFB, Louisiana 2
  • Whiteman AFB, Missouri 2
  • Cannon AFB, New Mexico 1
  • Tinker AFB, Oklahoma 1
  • Keesler AFB, Mississippi 1

More Air Force 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.

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