Air Force Courts-Martial, December 2022: The Month in Review
Of 17 Air Force courts-martial in December 2022, 11 were contested (65%), and 7 of those 11 ended in a full acquittal (64%). For the Air Force across 2022, the contested share was 47% and the full-acquittal rate in contested cases was 45%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Year › December 2022
Short answer: Of 17 Air Force courts-martial in December 2022, 11 were contested (65%), and 7 of those 11 ended in a full acquittal (64%). For the Air Force across 2022, the contested share was 47% and the full-acquittal rate in contested cases was 45%. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as for the year.
Full Acquittals in 7 of 11 Contested Cases
A contested case is one in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 64% ended with the accused found not guilty of all charges. That is higher than the 45% for the Air Force in 2022.
Another 2 cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Pleas in December 2022
In December 2022, 11 accused contested at least one charge and 6 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 65%, higher than the 47% for the year.
Who Decided the Verdicts
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 41% of the month's cases: 5 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. A military judge alone decided 10. Among the 11 contested cases, members heard 7 (64%).
Charges Listed for 10 Cases
Charge lists cover 10 of the 17 cases. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, and a case with several articles appears under each one.
Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 3 cases (30%), about the same as the 33% for the year. Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of vehicle) and Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) each appeared in 2 cases (20%), compared with 5% and 4% for the year. Article 120 also appeared in 2 cases. Article 86, Article 92, Article 134, and Article 120b appeared in 1 case each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 30% | 33% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 20% | 5% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 20% | 15% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 2 | 20% | 4% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 1 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 10% | 17% |
| Art. 134 General article | 1 | 10% | 20% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 10% | 6% |
Confinement for Those Convicted
Of the 17 cases, 10 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 9 of those sentences included confinement (90%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median for the year. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.2 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in its case.
Rank and Court Level
The accused were 7 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group was more senior than the Air Force's accused across 2022.
The month had 9 general and 8 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 53%, compared with 57% for the year. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
What These Records Leave Out
These are only the cases that reached a courtroom. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and Air Force records never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in December 2022 (17 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)
- October 2022 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 24 Cases (previous / next)
- January 2023 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 24 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2022: 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 2020: 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.