Army Courts-Martial With Article 112a and Article 86, 2021–2026

Trends › By Offense › Article 112a › Army, with Article 86

Based on 19 cases · 2021–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Guilty Pleas and Judge-Alone Trials

The records list 19 guilty pleas in this group. 17 of them are recorded with a plea agreement, and 2 have no entry. Army records state whether there was an agreement but not what it said.

0% of the cases with the forum listed went to members. A military judge alone decided all 19. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.

Confinement Matched the Article 112a Median

Confinement was part of 89% of the 19 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, and a quarter of the terms were 6 months or longer. In all Army Article 112a cases in 2021–2026, the median was also 5 months.

The figures are adjudged sentences, as set at trial. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Bad-Conduct Discharges, No Dishonorable Discharges

A punitive discharge followed 76% of enlisted convictions. All 13 were bad-conduct discharges, and 0 were dishonorable. Army-wide Article 112a cases had a rate of 81%.

2 convicted officers or warrant officers appear, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Special Courts-Martial Outnumbered General Courts-Martial

11 cases were special courts-martial and 8 were general courts-martial. The general share was 42%, compared with 53% in all Army Article 112a cases in 2021–2026.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Rank of the Accused

The accused were 13 junior enlisted members, 4 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group was more senior than Army-wide Article 112a cases.

Charges Besides Drugs and AWOL

Article 107, false official statement, was charged in 6 cases. Article 92, orders violation, appeared in 5. Article 128, assault, appeared in 4, and Article 89, disrespect, in 3.

Trial Years

The 19 cases were tried from April 2021 through January 2026: 6 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 5 in 2023, 4 in 2024, 1 in 2025, and 1 in 2026, a partial year. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

What This Leaves Out

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, and new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. These records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases.

Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial · Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial

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.