First Case in the Data: How Often Was an Air Force Lawyer of Record New? 2018–2026
In 133 of 2310 Air Force courts-martial with a trial counsel listed from 2018 through October 2026 (6%), no trial counsel of record had a prior case in this data. On the defense side, that happened in only 10 cases.
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Trends › Counsel Experience › First Case in the Data
Short answer: In 133 of 2310 Air Force courts-martial with a trial counsel listed from 2018 through October 2026 (6%), no trial counsel of record had a prior case in this data. On the defense side, that happened in only 10 cases. The median prior-case count of the most experienced lawyer on the team was 10 for the defense and 7 for the prosecution.
Prosecution Teams With No Prior Cases
A case is counted here as having a new team when none of its counsel of record on one side had an earlier court-martial in this data. On the prosecution side, that was true in 133 cases, or 6% of the 2310 cases that list a trial counsel.
New defense teams were much less frequent in these records. Only 10 of the 2310 cases with a defense counsel listed had no defense counsel of record with a prior case.
A lawyer counted as new here may still have tried cases elsewhere or before the records begin. The term means only that the data shows no earlier case for that lawyer.
How Experience Is Defined
Experience on this page is the number of courts-martial a lawyer had already been counsel of record on in this data, on either side, in the Air Force, before the trial date. It is a count, not a measure of skill.
Cases often list more than one lawyer per side, and the records do not say who led. Each side of a case is therefore placed by its most experienced lawyer of record. The page does not rate or rank lawyers.
Lower Prior-Case Counts on the Prosecution Side
For the most experienced trial counsel of record, the median prior-case count was 7. The 1 to 4 group was the largest, with 784 cases (34%). The 5 to 9, 10 to 19, and 20 or more groups each held 20% of cases: 466, 473, and 454 cases.
Low counts were common in this group, but so were high ones. The prosecution had a lawyer of record with 20 or more prior cases in 454 cases.
| Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 133 | 6% |
| 1 to 4 | 784 | 34% |
| 5 to 9 | 466 | 20% |
| 10 to 19 | 473 | 20% |
| 20 or more | 454 | 20% |
Defense Teams Were More Often Experienced
For the most experienced defense counsel of record, the median was 10 prior cases. The 10 to 19 group held 1032 cases (45%) and the 5 to 9 group 764 cases (33%).
The lowest ranges were smaller on the defense side than on the prosecution side. The 1 to 4 group had 264 cases (11%), compared with 784 (34%) for trial counsel. The 20 or more group had 240 cases (10%).
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 10 | 0% |
| 1 to 4 | 264 | 11% |
| 5 to 9 | 764 | 33% |
| 10 to 19 | 1032 | 45% |
| 20 or more | 240 | 10% |
How Many Lawyers Each Side Listed
Prosecution teams were usually larger. Of the 2310 cases with a trial counsel, 1059 listed 2 trial counsel of record and 782 listed 3 or more. Only 469 listed 1.
Defense teams were usually smaller. Of the 2310 cases with a defense counsel, 1297 listed 1 defense counsel of record, 878 listed 2, and 135 listed 3 or more.
Pleas and Acquittals in These Years
Of the 2327 cases, 48% were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 344 of 695 ended in a full acquittal, a finding of not guilty on every charge (49%). These figures are for the Air Force as a whole, not for any one offense.
Year Counts and Law Changes
Cases per year were 368 in 2018, 346 in 2019, 257 in 2020, 267 in 2021, 266 in 2022, 225 in 2023, 225 in 2024, 218 in 2025, and 155 in 2026, which is a partial year.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements, while cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, and when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new parameters. The records lack offense dates, so trials after each change mix cases under both sets of rules.
Limits of the Counsel Data
Air Force counsel names are nearly complete from 2016. Starting in 2018 gives most lawyers two years of earlier cases in the data. Names written several ways are merged as on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps records list counsel only from mid-2025, mostly by surname, and are not included.
Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, never report plea agreements, and from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in the records, and the evidence and plea terms are not described.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with trial dates in 2018–2026 (2327 cases).
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Counsel Experience (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Bigger Teams for Bigger Cases? Air Force Counsel of Record by Charge, 2018–2026
- The Experience Gap: Defense vs. Prosecution in Contested Air Force Cases, 2020–2026
- Bigger Teams for Bigger Cases? Army Counsel of Record by Charge, 2023–2026
- First Case in the Data: How Often Was an Army Lawyer of Record New? 2023–2026
- The Experience Gap: Defense vs. Prosecution in Contested Army Cases, 2023–2026
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.