Understanding Trends

Air Force Trial Counsel in 2018: Prior Cases, Turnover, and Team Size

Air Force cases tried in 2018 name 371 different trial counsel of record, and 155 of them (42%) had no earlier case in this data. Most of these prosecutors appeared in only a few cases that year.

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read

Trends › Counsel Experience › Air Force 2018

Short answer: Air Force cases tried in 2018 name 371 different trial counsel of record, and 155 of them (42%) had no earlier case in this data. Most of these prosecutors appeared in only a few cases that year. In the 367 cases that list a trial counsel, the median prior-case count of the most experienced prosecutor on the team was 7, and the prosecution had fewer prior cases than the defense in 202 of 366 cases (55%).

Based on 368 cases · 2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Prosecutors Were New to the Data

Of the 371 trial counsel of record in 2018 Air Force cases, 155 (42%) had no earlier court-martial in this data. Trial counsel are the lawyers who prosecute a court-martial for the government, and in 2018 a large share of them were making their first appearance in these records.

New in this sense means only that the records show no earlier case for the lawyer. Air Force counsel names are nearly complete from 2016, so a lawyer could have appeared before that point, or in other work, without being counted.

Most Trial Counsel Handled Few Cases That Year

The largest group of prosecutors, 181 lawyers, appeared in just 1 case in 2018. Another 150 appeared in 2 to 4 cases.

Only 35 trial counsel appeared in 5 to 9 cases during the year, and 5 appeared in 10 or more.

These counts are for appearances as trial counsel in 2018 only. The prior-case figures below are a different measure: they count a lawyer's earlier cases on either side, before each trial date.

Cases as trial counsel in 2018	Lawyers
1 case	181
2 to 4 cases	150
5 to 9 cases	35
10 or more cases	5

The Definition of Experience

Here, experience is 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 a count of appearances. It does not measure skill.

Prosecution teams often list several lawyers, and the records do not say who led. Each case is therefore grouped by its trial counsel of record with the most prior cases. This page does not rank or rate any lawyer.

Prior Cases of the Most Experienced Prosecutor

Trial counsel of record are listed in 367 of the 368 cases. For the most experienced trial counsel on each team, the median was 7 prior cases.

The counts were spread across the ranges. The 1 to 4 group had 115 cases (31%), the 10 to 19 group 111 (30%), and the 5 to 9 group 97 (26%). Only 27 cases (7%) had a trial counsel with 20 or more prior cases.

In 17 cases (5%), no trial counsel of record on the team had a prior case in this data.

Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel)	Cases	Share
No prior cases	17	5%
1 to 4	115	31%
5 to 9	97	26%
10 to 19	111	30%
20 or more	27	7%

Larger Teams on the Prosecution Side

Prosecution teams usually had more than 1 lawyer. Of the 367 cases, 165 listed 2 trial counsel of record and 143 listed 3 or more. Only 59 listed a single trial counsel.

The records give names only. They do not show how work was divided or whether each listed lawyer took part in the whole trial.

Prosecution and Defense Prior Cases

In 366 cases, lawyers are listed on both sides. When the most experienced counsel of record for each side are compared, the trial counsel had more prior cases in 138 cases (38%) and fewer in 202 (55%). The rest were tied.

The comparison says how many earlier cases each side's lawyer had in the data. It does not show which side was more skilled or how any case ended.

Charges and Sentences, 2018 Against 2017

Article 134 (general article) was charged in 27% of 2018 cases, compared with 21% in 2017. Of convicted enlisted members, 58% received a punitive discharge, meaning a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge, compared with 51% in 2017. For officers, the equivalent of a punitive discharge is a dismissal. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation. Sentences are as adjudged at trial, and neither figure is broken down by lawyer.

The Rules Then and the Gaps in the Records

All 368 trials happened under the rules in force before January 1, 2019, the date the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. Fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements all came later, so none of them applied to these cases.

Names written several ways are merged as on Learn Your Lawyer, and Navy and Marine Corps records, which list counsel only from mid-2025 and mostly by surname, are not included. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in the records. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, never report plea agreements, and from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea.

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 2018 (368 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

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.