Army Article 133 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025

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Based on 44 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Every Accused Was an Officer

All 44 accused were officers or warrant officers. There were 0 junior enlisted members and 0 NCOs. Across all Army cases, 55% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is much more senior than the Army overall.

Most of these cases were general courts-martial: 91% (39 of the 43 cases with a court level listed). A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and dismissal.

More Contested Cases, Few Full Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least 1 charge. There were 19 contested cases and 25 guilty pleas. The contested share of 43% was higher than the 30% Army-wide.

All 25 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show that an agreement existed but not its terms.

Only 1 of 19 contested cases that reached a verdict (5%) ended in a full acquittal. Across all Army cases in those years, the rate was 38%.

Partial acquittals were common. 17 cases ended with a not-guilty finding on at least 1 charge or specification and a guilty finding on another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are easy to count.

Most Convictions Had No Confinement

Of 43 convictions, 15 included confinement and 28 did not. The share with no confinement was 65%, compared with 17% across the rest of the Army. For those sentenced to confinement, the median was 2 months, compared with 6 months Army-wide. A quarter of those sentences were 6 months or longer.

Only 1 of 43 convictions (2%) was sentenced to more than one year, compared with 28% across the Army. That sentence was 5 years or more. Another 3 convictions (7%) were 6 months to 1 year, compared with 16% in the rest of the Army.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. A special court-martial cannot adjudge more than one year of confinement.

Who Decided Guilt?

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members decided 23% of the cases with the forum listed. All 10 of those panels were officer panels, and there were 0 enlisted panels. A judge alone decided the other 33 cases.

In contested cases, members decided 10 of 18 (56%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. The share decided by members was higher here, and so was the contested share.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

In 34 of the 44 cases, at least 1 other article was charged with Article 133. Article 134 (the general article) was charged in 15, Article 128 (assault) in 14, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 8, Article 107 (false official statement) in 7, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 7.

Cases and Convictions by Year

Trials took place from February 2021 through June 2025. There were 10 cases in 2021, 1 in 2022, 15 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 7 in 2025. The 44 cases were 2% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

As a share of all Army convictions with offenses listed, convictions that included Article 133 were 2% in 2021, 0% in 2022 (1 of 424), 3% in 2023, 2% in 2024, and 1% in 2025. The highest yearly number of these convictions was 12, in 2023. With numbers this small, a few cases can change the yearly figures.

Convictions per Year in a Chart

The chart shows the number of Army convictions that included Article 133 each year. There were 8 in 2021 and 5 in 2025. The lowest number was 1, in 2022. The highest was 12, in 2023.

Installations With the Most Cases

Fort Bragg had 11 of these cases and Fort Hood had 5. Fort Knox, Wheeler Army Airfield, and Camp Humphreys had 3 each. Together these 5 installations account for 57% of the 44 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem with this offense at any one base.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Military judges also set sentences within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both sets of rules. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Only cases that went to a court-martial appear here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.