March 2020 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 19 Cases
The records show 19 Air Force trials in March 2020. All 14 convictions included confinement, with a median of 4 months, the same as the Air Force median for 2020. Only 3 of 13 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, all of them bad-conduct discharges.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Short answer: The records show 19 Air Force trials in March 2020. All 14 convictions included confinement, with a median of 4 months, the same as the Air Force median for 2020. Only 3 of 13 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, all of them bad-conduct discharges.
Confinement in Every Conviction
Of 14 convictions, 14 carried confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as for the Air Force in all of 2020. A quarter of the confinement terms were 6 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They reflect the sentence announced at trial for every charge, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Bad-Conduct Discharges Only
3 of 13 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. All 3 were bad-conduct discharges, and there were 0 dishonorable discharges. The Air Force share for 2020 was 50%.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Drug and Orders Charges
The charge lists cover 14 of 19 cases, and a case with several articles counts under each. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 9 cases (64%), higher than the 51% for the Air Force in 2020. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 5 cases (36%), compared with 16%.
Article 128 (assault) appeared in 4 cases and Article 134 (general article) in 3. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct), Article 109 (property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction), Article 113 (misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since), and Article 116 (riot or breach of peace) appeared in 1 each.
Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so these shares mostly describe cases with a conviction.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 64% | 51% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 36% | 16% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 29% | 17% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 21% | 22% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 1 | 7% | 2% |
| Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 1 | 7% | 2% |
| Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since | 1 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 116 Riot or breach of peace | 1 | 7% | 1% |
Compared With March 2019
March 2019 had 30 cases, and March 2020 had 19. The median confinement went from 9 months to 4 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 71% to 23%.
The general court-martial share went from 80% to 47%. Convictions with confinement went from 86% to 100%. With so few cases in each month, these comparisons show direction, not measured trends.
| March 2019 | March 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 30 | 19 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 55% |
| Convictions with confinement | 86% | 100% |
| Median confinement | 9 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 23% |
| General courts-martial | 80% | 47% |
Pleas
11 of the 19 records list the plea. 5 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge, a contested share of 55%. Across the Air Force in 2020 the contested share was 48%. A contested case is a not-guilty or mixed plea.
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided 12 cases. Members heard 33% of cases with the forum listed: 5 with enlisted panels and 1 with an officer panel.
By rank, the accused were 10 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more senior group than the Air Force as a whole in 2020. There were 9 general and 10 special courts-martial. The general share was 47%, compared with 51% for the year.
Limits of the Records
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations. 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 March 2020 (19 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)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, February 2020: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, May 2020: The Month in Review (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 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.