Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2020: The Month in Review
The Air Force tried 26 courts-martial in August 2020. Of those, 38% were contested, compared with 48% for the Air Force in 2020. Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (40%), compared with 58% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › August 2020
Short answer: The Air Force tried 26 courts-martial in August 2020. Of those, 38% were contested, compared with 48% for the Air Force in 2020. Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (40%), compared with 58% for the year.
More Guilty Pleas Than the Year
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In August 2020, 16 accused pleaded guilty and 10 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 38%. Across the Air Force in 2020, it was 48%.
Verdicts in the Contested Cases
Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal. That 40% rate is lower than the 58% for the Air Force over the year.
Another 2 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Most Cases Were Decided Without a Panel
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. In August 2020, a military judge alone decided 20 cases, officer panels 4, and enlisted panels 2. Members heard 23% of cases, compared with 35% for the year.
Members heard 6 of the 10 contested cases (60%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. A month with fewer contested cases therefore usually has fewer panels.
An enlisted accused may ask for enlisted members on the panel. In August 2020, 2 cases had enlisted panels and 4 had officer panels.
Fewer Drug Cases
Charges are listed for 21 of the 26 cases, and each article counts once per case. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 7 cases (33%), lower than the 51% for the Air Force in 2020. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 5 cases (24%), compared with 22%. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 3 cases (14%), compared with 17%.
Each of 5 articles appeared in 2 cases (10%): Article 86 (AWOL), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), Article 107 (false official statements), Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child). Article 92 was lower than its annual 16%. The others were about the same as their annual shares.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 33% | 51% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 24% | 22% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 14% | 17% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 10% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 10% | 7% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 10% | 8% |
Confinement and Its Range
There were 22 convictions, and 19 of them (86%) included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the 4 months for the year. A quarter of the terms were 2.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge.
Terms longer than one year came in 5 of 22 convictions (23%), compared with 20% for the year. Terms under 6 months were 55%, compared with 60%. Convictions with no confinement were 14%, compared with 7%.
Terms from 6 months to 1 year were 9%, compared with 13%. Terms from 1 year to under 5 years were 18%, compared with 15%. Terms of 5 years or more were 5% in both the month and the year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 14% | 7% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 55% | 60% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 9% | 13% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 18% | 15% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 5% | 5% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with a cap of six months and no punitive discharge.
The month had 11 general and 15 special courts-martial. The general share was 42%, compared with 51% for the year. All 7 convictions at general courts-martial included confinement, with a median of 3 years. At special courts-martial, 80% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 2 months.
Punitive Discharges at the Annual Rate
A punitive discharge followed 50% of enlisted convictions, the same as the 50% for the Air Force in 2020. The month had 6 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. Either level can impose a bad-conduct discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Rank and Location
The accused were 18 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That group was more junior than the Air Force in 2020, where junior enlisted members were 66% of the accused.
Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, and Minot AFB, North Dakota, each tried 2 cases. JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Shaw AFB, South Carolina, tried 1 each. Together they account for 31% of the month's cases.
Limits of the Data
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and do not report plea agreements. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are not in these records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in August 2020 (26 cases), compared with the whole year.
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
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- July 2020 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 29 Cases (previous / next)
- September 2020 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 26 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2020: Year in Review (the whole year)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2022: The Month in Review
- 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.