How Army False Official Statement Cases Ended in 2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › Army, 2025

Based on 26 cases · 2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Contested Cases Than the Army Overall

Of 26 cases, 11 were contested and 15 were guilty pleas. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 42% was higher than the 20% for the Army as a whole in 2025.

Almost every guilty plea had a plea agreement: 14 of the 15 are recorded with one, and 1 has no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed but not what it said.

How the Contested Cases Ended

Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 27% ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. That was lower than the 45% rate across all Army cases in 2025.

Another 6 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results report findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear in Army data.

In 2025, partial acquittals were more common than full acquittals in these contested cases. In a partial acquittal, the sentence covers only the charges that ended in a conviction. Those can include charges other than Article 107.

Most Sentences Were Short

Of 23 cases with a conviction on at least one charge, 17 included confinement (74%). The median confinement was 2 months, compared with 8 months for all Army cases in 2025.

Terms under 6 months were the most common, in 13 convictions (57%), compared with 36% Army-wide. No conviction included a term of 6 months to 1 year, compared with 15% for the service. Terms of more than one year were part of 4 of 23 convictions (17%), compared with 30%. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

General and Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. This group had 12 of each, and the level is not listed for 2 cases. The general court-martial share of 50% was lower than the 66% for all Army cases in 2025.

The median confinement was shorter at general courts-martial than at special courts-martial. General courts-martial here had a median of 30 days and a 33% contested share. Special courts-martial had a median of 3 months and a 42% contested share. With only 12 cases at each level, a few sentences determine those medians.

Who Faced These Charges

Most of the accused were NCOs. By rank, 18 accused were NCOs, 5 were junior enlisted, and 3 were officers. That mix is more senior than all Army cases in 2025.

Of 21 convicted enlisted members, 12 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (57%), lower than the 73% Army-wide. Of those, 2 were dishonorable discharges. Neither of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Larceny Was the Most Common Companion Charge

Article 107 was the only charge in 6 of 26 cases. When paired, it most often appeared with Article 121 (larceny), in 8 cases. Article 91 (insubordination) appeared in 5, Article 134 (general article) and Article 86 (AWOL) in 4 each, and Article 89 (disrespect) in 3.

A sentence covers all findings in a case. When a case ended in convictions for both a false statement and larceny, the term cannot be traced to either charge alone.

Panels and Places

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 18 cases. Members decided 28% of cases with the forum listed, and all 7 were enlisted panels. Among contested cases, members decided 6 of 10 (60%).

Vilseck (Europe) tried 3 of these cases, and Camp Henry, Fort Bliss, Fort Sill, and Fort Meade tried 2 each. Together they accounted for 42% of the 26. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not mean any base has a particular problem.

The Rules in Force

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel instead of commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding involves an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, so trials in 2025 include cases under the old rules and the new rules.

What Cannot Be Seen Here

These records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Matters handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear in them.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.