How Many Prior Courts-Martial Had Air Force Defense Counsel Tried? 2023
Air Force defense counsel of record in 2023 trials had a median of 11 prior cases in this data, counting the most experienced lawyer on each team in the 223 cases that list one. Of the 131 defense lawyers who appeared that year, 7 (5%) had no earlier case.
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Trends › Counsel Experience › Air Force 2023
Short answer: Air Force defense counsel of record in 2023 trials had a median of 11 prior cases in this data, counting the most experienced lawyer on each team in the 223 cases that list one. Of the 131 defense lawyers who appeared that year, 7 (5%) had no earlier case. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 56% (67 of 120), higher than the 45% rate in 2022.
More Domestic Violence Charges and More Full Acquittals
Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 14% of the 225 cases tried in 2023. In 2022, the share was 4%.
Contested cases are those where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 120 contested cases from 2023 that reached a verdict, 67 ended in a full acquittal, a finding of not guilty on every charge. That is 56%, compared with 45% in 2022.
These are figures for all 2023 cases together. They are not broken down by lawyer, and the records do not show why either figure changed.
Verdicts by the Defense Lawyer's Prior Cases
The verdict table covers 119 contested cases that reached a verdict and list a defense counsel, grouped by the prior-case count of the most experienced defense counsel of record. A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another.
Every group had a full acquittal rate of at least 52%. They were 65% in the 20 or more group, 62% in the 1 to 4 group, 55% in the 5 to 9 group, and 52% in the 10 to 19 group. Partial acquittal rates were 23% in the 1 to 4 and 5 to 9 groups, 17% with 20 or more, and 15% with 10 to 19.
Since the records do not show the evidence, plea offers, or who did the work, the table describes outcomes only. It does not show an effect of experience.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Contested cases | Full acquittal | Partial acquittal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 13 | 62% | 23% |
| 5 to 9 | 31 | 55% | 23% |
| 10 to 19 | 52 | 52% | 15% |
| 20 or more | 23 | 65% | 17% |
How the Prior-Case Count Works
Experience is defined as 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 not a measure of skill, and it does not include cases from before the records begin.
The records list some teams with more than one lawyer and do not say who led. Each case is counted by its defense counsel of record with the most prior cases. Nothing here rates or ranks any lawyer.
Defense Experience Across the Year
Of the 225 cases, 223 list at least one defense counsel of record. The median prior-case count of the most experienced was 11.
The 10 to 19 group was the largest, with 107 cases (48%). The 5 to 9 group had 64 cases (29%), the 20 or more group 28 (13%), and the 1 to 4 group 24 (11%). Every listed team had at least one lawyer with an earlier case in the data.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 0 | 0% |
| 1 to 4 | 24 | 11% |
| 5 to 9 | 64 | 29% |
| 10 to 19 | 107 | 48% |
| 20 or more | 28 | 13% |
Turnover Among Defense Lawyers
There were 131 different defense counsel of record in 2023 trials. Most handled only a few cases that year: 69 appeared in 2 to 4 cases and 43 in a single case. Another 19 appeared in 5 to 9 cases, and no lawyer appeared in 10 or more.
Of the 131, 7 (5%) had no earlier case in this data. New here means only that the records show no earlier Air Force court-martial for that lawyer.
| Cases as defense counsel in 2023 | Lawyers |
|---|---|
| 1 case | 43 |
| 2 to 4 cases | 69 |
| 5 to 9 cases | 19 |
| 10 or more cases | 0 |
Team Size on the Defense Side
In 2023, teams of 2 defense counsel of record were a little more common than single lawyers. Of 223 cases, 114 listed 2, 103 listed 1, and 6 listed 3 or more.
Comparing Defense and Prosecution
Lawyers for both sides are listed in 223 cases. Looking at the most experienced counsel of record on each side, the defense counsel had more prior cases in 125 cases (56%) and fewer in 90 (40%). The rest were tied. This compares counts of earlier cases, not ability, and it is not connected to the verdict table above.
Coverage and Limits
Air Force counsel names are nearly complete from 2016. Name variants are merged as on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps records list counsel only from mid-2025, mostly by surname, so they are not included.
What the records contain is the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence of each trial. The evidence, plea terms, and any conduct dealt with outside a court-martial are not in them. In Air Force records, charges are rarely listed when a case ends in a full acquittal, and plea agreements are never reported.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every Air Force court-martial with a trial date in 2023 (225 cases). Counsel of record are as listed in the public records.
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)
- 2018: Experience of Air Force Defense Counsel of Record
- 2020: Experience of Air Force Trial Counsel of Record
- 2021: Experience of Air Force Trial Counsel of Record
- 2023: Experience of Air Force Trial Counsel of Record
- 2024: Experience of Air Force Trial Counsel of Record
- 2025: Experience of Air Force Defense Counsel of Record
- 2025: Experience of Air Force Trial Counsel of Record
- 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.