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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Trial Counsel

Steven T. Poland

Counsel of record in 37 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(0 as defense counsel, 37 as trial counsel)
Oct 2020 to Feb 2026

37Cases
0As defense counsel
37As trial counsel
17Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 3.2

37Cases
17Contested
47%Acquitted, contested cases (8 of 17)
35%Partial acquittal, contested cases (6 of 17)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty20 (54%)
  • Not Guilty16 (43%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (3%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement19 (51%)
  • No plea agreement15 (41%)
  • Not reported3 (8%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone27 (73%)
  • Enlisted Panel4 (11%)
  • Officer Panel3 (8%)
  • Not Reported3 (8%)

Contested Panel Cases: 7 of 17

  • Enlisted Panel4 of 17
  • Officer Panel3 of 17

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted22 (59%)
  • Partial Acquittal6 (16%)
  • Acquitted8 (22%)
  • No Result Posted1 (3%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone7133
Enlisted Panel4211
Officer Panel3021
Not Reported3003

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (26 Convictions)

  • BCD15 of 26
  • DD4 of 26
  • No Punitive Discharge7 of 26

Officers and Warrant Officers (2 Convictions)

  • Dismissal2 of 2

No Punitive Discharge

7 of 26 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement4 of 7
  • No plea agreement3 of 7

Member Retained: 0 of 2 Officer Convictions

  • No dismissal0 of 2
73%Punitive discharge, enlisted (19 of 26)
89%Confinement (25 of 28 convictions)
1.2 yrsMedian confinement
64.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault151089
Art. 134 General article104101
Art. 128 Assault8826
Art. 128b Domestic violence6343
Art. 80 Attempts6452
Art. 81 Conspiracy5050
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation5241
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances3030
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3130
Art. 121 Larceny3121
Charges not listed in the record1000

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Joint Base Lewis-McChord 27
  • Fort Gordon 7
  • Fort Irwin 2
  • Fort Bragg 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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