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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

Sarah H. Bailey

Counsel of record in 24 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(24 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Sep 2020 to Sep 2026

24Cases
24As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
15Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 2.5

24Cases
15Contested
27%Acquitted, contested cases (4 of 15)
47%Partial acquittal, contested cases (7 of 15)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty9 (38%)
  • Not Guilty10 (42%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (4%)
  • Mixed Plea*4 (17%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement11 (46%)
  • No plea agreement9 (38%)
  • Not reported4 (17%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone19 (79%)
  • Enlisted Panel4 (17%)
  • Officer Panel1 (4%)

Contested Panel Cases: 5 of 15

  • Enlisted Panel4 of 15
  • Officer Panel1 of 15

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted10 (42%)
  • Partial Acquittal7 (29%)
  • Acquitted4 (17%)
  • No Result Posted3 (12%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone10262
Enlisted Panel4012
Officer Panel1100

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (15 Convictions)

  • BCD5 of 15
  • DD6 of 15
  • No Punitive Discharge4 of 15

Officers and Warrant Officers (2 Convictions)

  • No Dismissal2 of 2

No Punitive Discharge

4 of 15 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 4
  • No plea agreement2 of 4
  • Not reported1 of 4

Member Retained: 2 of 2 Officer Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 2
  • No plea agreement1 of 2
73%Punitive discharge, enlisted (11 of 15)
65%Confinement (11 of 17 convictions)
1.0 yrsMedian confinement
5.5 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault11957
Art. 134 General article4232
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3231
Art. 128b Domestic violence3230
Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment3322
Art. 131b Obstructing justice2202
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation2221
Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction1101
Art. 115 Communicating threats1110
Art. 117a Wrongful broadcast of intimate visual images1110
Charges not listed in the record3100

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Drum 16
  • Fort McNair 5
  • Fort Lee 1
  • Aberdeen Proving Ground 1
  • Fort Stewart 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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