Who Prosecuted Contested Army Article 120c Cases? Trial Counsel Experience, 2023–2026
The Army tried 17 contested courts-martial charging Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) from 2023 to 2026, and 7 of them ended in a full acquittal (41%). That is about the same as the 40% rate for all contested Army cases in those years.
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Short answer: The Army tried 17 contested courts-martial charging Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) from 2023 to 2026, and 7 of them ended in a full acquittal (41%). That is about the same as the 40% rate for all contested Army cases in those years. In the 16 cases that list a trial counsel of record, the most experienced prosecutor on the team had a median of 12 prior cases in this data.
Prosecutors With 20 or More Prior Cases Were the Largest Group
Trial counsel are the lawyers who prosecute a court-martial. In 6 of the 16 cases with a listed trial counsel (38%), the most experienced prosecutor of record had 20 or more prior cases in the data. The 10 to 19 group had 4 cases (25%).
The 1 to 4 group and the 5 to 9 group had 3 cases each (19% each). No case fell in the no-prior-cases group. In every case, at least one trial counsel of record had appeared on an earlier court-martial in this data.
| Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 0 | 0% |
| 1 to 4 | 3 | 19% |
| 5 to 9 | 3 | 19% |
| 10 to 19 | 4 | 25% |
| 20 or more | 6 | 38% |
How a Prior Case Is Counted
The count for each lawyer is the number of Army courts-martial that lawyer had already appeared on as counsel of record in this data before the trial date. An earlier appearance on the defense side counts the same as one on the prosecution side.
This count says nothing about skill. Any case a lawyer handled before the records begin is missing from it. The records also do not say which lawyer led a team, so each case is placed by its most experienced trial counsel of record. No lawyer is rated or ranked on this page.
Full and Partial Acquittals in Each Group
All 16 cases in the verdict table were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another.
Among the 6 cases where the top prosecutor had 20 or more prior cases, 2 of 6 ended in a full acquittal and 4 of 6 in a partial acquittal. In the 10 to 19 group, the counts were 2 of 4 and 1 of 4. The 1 to 4 group had 2 of 3 full acquittals and 1 of 3 partial acquittals. The 5 to 9 group had 1 of 3 of each.
Each group holds 6 cases or fewer. The records do not include the evidence, any plea offers, or who did the work at trial. The table reports outcomes and does not measure what experience did.
| Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel) | Contested cases | Full acquittal | Partial acquittal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 3 | 2 of 3 | 1 of 3 |
| 5 to 9 | 3 | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 |
| 10 to 19 | 4 | 2 of 4 | 1 of 4 |
| 20 or more | 6 | 2 of 6 | 4 of 6 |
Size of the Prosecution Teams
Team sizes were spread out. Of the 16 cases, 5 listed a single trial counsel of record, 6 listed 2, and 5 listed 3 or more.
Which Side Had More Prior Cases?
Lawyers are listed on both sides in 16 cases. When the most experienced lawyer on each side is compared, the defense counsel had more prior cases in 8 cases (50%). The trial counsel had more in 6 (38%), and 2 were tied.
Cases by Year and Name Coverage
The 17 trials ran from March 2023 to May 2026: 6 in 2023, 5 in 2024, 4 in 2025, and 2 in 2026. The 2026 figure covers only part of the year.
Counsel names in Army records are nearly complete from 2021. The page starts in 2023 so that most lawyers already have earlier cases in the data. A name spelled in different ways is merged by the method used on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps records name counsel only from mid-2025, and mostly by surname, so those services are left out.
A Covered Offense Under the New Rules
Article 120c is a covered offense. For covered offenses, special trial counsel, not commanders, have decided whether to prosecute since December 28, 2023. A second change applies when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023: the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.
Both changes depend on the date of the offense. These records list only the trial date, so the 2024 and later trials include cases under the old rules and cases under the new ones. The records also leave out nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, the evidence, and the plea terms.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120c on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with trial dates in 2023–2026 that charged Article 120c and had a not-guilty or mixed plea (17 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
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- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 121 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 128 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Article 120c explained on the law firm's website
- 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.