Air Force Courts-Martial, May 2020: The Month in Review
The records show 12 Air Force trials in May 2020, and all 12 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 11 of the 12 accused pleaded guilty, so the contested share was 8%, compared with 48% across the Air Force in 2020.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Short answer: The records show 12 Air Force trials in May 2020, and all 12 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 11 of the 12 accused pleaded guilty, so the contested share was 8%, compared with 48% across the Air Force in 2020. The median confinement was 6 months, longer than the 4-month median for the year.
Almost Every Accused Pleaded Guilty
11 accused pleaded guilty, and 1 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. That is a contested share of 8%. For the Air Force in all of 2020, the contested share was 48%.
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The records do not show plea terms, so they cannot show what any agreement provided.
Longer Confinement Than the Year
12 cases ended in a conviction, and 11 of those sentences included confinement (92%). The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months for the Air Force in 2020. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.1 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial for every charge of conviction. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Punitive Discharges
Among convicted enlisted members, 64% received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. The Air Force rate for 2020 was 50%. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Article 134 and Assault Charges
All 12 records list the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 4 cases (33%), compared with 22% for the year. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 3 cases (25%), compared with 17%.
Article 112a (drug offenses) also appeared in 3 cases, but its 25% share was lower than the 51% for the Air Force in 2020. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) and Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 2 cases each (17%), compared with 8% and 5% for the year.
Article 109 (property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction), Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation), and Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 1 case each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 33% | 22% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 25% | 17% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 25% | 51% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 17% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 17% | 5% |
| Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 1 | 8% | 2% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 8% | 16% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 8% | 3% |
May 2019 Compared With May 2020
May 2019 had 30 cases, and May 2020 had 12. The median confinement went from 4 months to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 48% to 64%, and convictions with confinement went from 85% to 92%. The general court-martial share went from 40% to 50%.
With so few cases, a small number of sentences can move these figures.
| May 2019 | May 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 30 | 12 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 8% |
| Convictions with confinement | 85% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 48% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 40% | 50% |
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided 11 cases. Members heard 1, with an enlisted panel. Members heard 8% of cases, compared with 35% for the year.
By rank, the accused were 8 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and 1 officer, similar to the Air Force as a whole in 2020. There were 6 general and 6 special courts-martial. The general share was 50%, compared with 51% for the year.
Limits of the Records
The records cover cases that reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action are not in them, and they do not describe the evidence. 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 May 2020 (12 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)
- March 2020 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 19 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, June 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.