Army Article 107 Trials Before a Military Judge Alone: Verdicts and Sentences

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Based on 27 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

How the Forum Is Chosen

In a court-martial, the accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Because the accused makes that choice, cases tried before a judge alone are not the same kinds of cases as those tried before members. The figures below describe what happened in these 27 cases. They do not show what a judge-alone trial causes.

Every case here was contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.

Verdicts: Few Full Acquittals, Many Partial Ones

Of the 27 contested cases, 3 ended in a full acquittal (11%). That is lower than the 15% full-acquittal rate in all contested Army Article 107 cases.

Another 18 cases ended in a partial acquittal (67%). A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army records.

Article 107 Was Rarely the Only Charge

Article 107 was the only charge in 1 of the 27 cases. The other cases paired it with at least one more article. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 10 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 9, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer), Article 92 (orders violation), and Article 134 (general article) in 5 each.

These other charges matter for reading the sentences. A sentence covers every charge in the case, so the confinement figures below reflect the full set of convictions, not the false statement alone.

Confinement After a Conviction

There were 24 convictions, and 67% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 1.4 years, compared with 1.2 years in all contested Army Article 107 cases.

Sentences longer than one year were more common here: 10 of 24 convictions (42%), compared with 34% in all contested Army Article 107 cases. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 17% of convictions, compared with 13%. At the other end, 8 convictions (33%) included no confinement, compared with 38%.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge followed 62% of enlisted convictions here: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 9 dishonorable discharges. In all contested Army Article 107 cases, the rate was 52%.

Of 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Court Level and Rank

General courts-martial heard 18 of the 26 cases with a court level listed (69%), the same as the 69% in all contested Army Article 107 cases. The court level is not listed for 1 case. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

By rank, 11 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 13 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 were officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than in all contested Army Article 107 cases, where 35% were junior enlisted.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from January 2021 through September 2025. There were 9 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 2 in 2024, and 4 in 2025.

Fort Sill had the most cases (5), followed by Fort Hood (4), Fort Bragg (3), Fort Bliss (3), and Fort Campbell (2). Together these 5 installations account for 63% of the 27 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone says little about any one base.

Rules and Record Limits

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on mix cases under old and new rules. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

With only 27 cases, a single case can change a percentage by several points. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.