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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense Counsel

Todd M. Chard

Counsel of record in 15 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(15 as defense counsel, 0 as trial counsel)
Mar 2023 to May 2025

15Cases
15As defense counsel
0As trial counsel
8Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 3.6

15Cases
8Contested
25%Acquitted, contested cases (2 of 8)
62%Partial acquittal, contested cases (5 of 8)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty7 (47%)
  • Not Guilty6 (40%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (7%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (7%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement8 (53%)
  • No plea agreement6 (40%)
  • Not reported1 (7%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone10 (67%)
  • Enlisted Panel5 (33%)

Contested Panel Cases: 5 of 8

  • Enlisted Panel5 of 8
  • Officer Panel0 of 8

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted8 (53%)
  • Partial Acquittal5 (33%)
  • Acquitted2 (13%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone3111
Enlisted Panel5041

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (13 Convictions)

  • BCD6 of 13
  • DD6 of 13
  • No Punitive Discharge1 of 13

No Punitive Discharge

1 of 13 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement1 of 1
  • No plea agreement0 of 1
92%Punitive discharge, enlisted (12 of 13)
85%Confinement (11 of 13 convictions)
2.5 yrsMedian confinement
lifeLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 128 Assault6553
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault5434
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child3232
Art. 128b Domestic violence3222
Art. 134 General article3212
Art. 118 Murder2111
Art. 80 Attempts2111
Art. 107 False official statements1010
Art. 115 Communicating threats1111
Art. 119 Manslaughter1101

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Bragg 12
  • Wheeler Army Airfield 1
  • Fort Wainwright 1
  • Joint Base Lewis-McChord 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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