> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Army General Article Cases Ended in 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:16:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:11:25.000Z - Description: Most Army cases charging Article 134, the general article, in 2025 were guilty pleas. Only 11% of the 95 courts-martial were contested, compared with 20% Army-wide. The median confinement was 1.2 years, compared with 8 months for all Army cases in 2025. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 134, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) › Army, 2025 **Short answer:** Most Army cases charging Article 134, the general article, in 2025 were guilty pleas. Only 11% of the 95 courts-martial were contested, compared with 20% Army-wide. The median confinement was 1.2 years, compared with 8 months for all Army cases in 2025. Based on 95 cases · 2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Guilty Pleas in Most Cases Of 95 accused, 85 pleaded guilty and 10 contested at least one charge. The contested share of 11% was lower than the 20% for the Army as a whole. It was also lower than the 21% for these cases in 2024. All 85 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records do not show the terms of the agreements. A judge alone decided 88 cases. Enlisted panels decided 5 and officer panels decided 1\. Members decided 6% of cases, compared with 15% Army-wide. ## Median Confinement of 1.2 Years 92 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those, 80 sentences included confinement (87%). The median confinement was 1.2 years. A quarter of the sentences were 2.7 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A plea agreement can limit the confinement that is imposed. The records do not show those limits or the time served. ## Confinement by Length Sentences longer than one year were 41 of 92 convictions (45%), compared with 30% across the Army. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years were 28 convictions (30%). Sentences of 5 years or more were 13 convictions (14%), compared with 11% Army-wide. Sentences under 6 months were 22% of convictions here, compared with 36% Army-wide. 12 convictions (13%) had no confinement. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in 2025 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- | | No confinement | 12 | 13% | 19% | | Under 6 months | 20 | 22% | 36% | | 6 months to 1 year | 19 | 21% | 15% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 28 | 30% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 13 | 14% | 11% | ## General and Special Courts-Martial Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose no more than one year of confinement. General courts-martial were 78 of the 93 cases with a court level listed (84%). Special courts-martial were 15, and 2 have no court level listed. At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.5 years, and 12% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 4 months, and 0% were contested. Most cases were general courts-martial, so the overall median of 1.2 years is nearer the general court-martial median. ## Contested Cases A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. All 10 contested cases reached a verdict. 3 ended in a full acquittal (30%), compared with 45% across the Army in 2025\. 5 ended in a partial acquittal, with not-guilty findings on some charges and guilty findings on others. Army findings are listed charge by charge. Only contested cases can end in acquittal. The acquittal figures here are therefore based on 10 cases, not all 95\. With 10 cases, 1 verdict can change the rate by several points. ## Punitive Discharges Of 88 convicted enlisted members, 75 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (85%). That is higher than the 73% Army-wide. Of those, 31 were dishonorable discharges. Of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were sentenced to dismissal. A punitive discharge is part of the court-martial sentence. A member without one can still receive a later administrative separation. ## Often the Only Charge Article 134 is the general article. It covers offenses not listed elsewhere in the code. It was the only charge in 59 of 95 cases. In cases with other charges, the most common were Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 10 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 9, Article 80 (attempt) in 6, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 5, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 4. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 55% of the accused, NCOs were 40%, and officers were 5%. Across all Army cases in 2025, junior enlisted members were 50%. ## Changes From 2024 There were 98 cases in 2024 and 95 in 2025\. The median confinement was 1 year in 2024 and 1.2 years in 2025\. Punitive discharges for enlisted members were 86% in 2024 and 85% in 2025\. Full acquittals were 3 of 21 contested cases in 2024 and 3 of 10 in 2025\. The general court-martial share was 84% in both years. | | 2024 | 2025 | | ----------------------------------- | ------- | --------- | | Cases | 98 | 95 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 21% | 11% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 21 | 3 of 10 | | Convictions with confinement | 91% | 87% | | Median confinement | 1 year | 1.2 years | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 86% | 85% | | General courts-martial | 84% | 84% | ## What the Records Do Not Show Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records do not give offense dates, so the 2025 trials include cases under the old rules and the new rules. The records do not identify which specific general article offense was charged. They do not include the evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled without a court-martial. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 134 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army courts-martial with a trial date in 2025 that charged Article 134 (95 cases), compared with all Army cases that year and with 2024. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [How Army General Article Cases Ended in 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2024/) (previous / next) - [Fewer or More? General Article Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-trend-2021-2025/) (the full trend) - [General Article at Army Courts-Martial, 2021: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2021/) - [How Army General Article Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2022/) - [How Army General Article Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2023/) - [Air Force Article 134 Cases in 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-134-2016/) - [What Sentence Follows an Army General Article Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-sent-2021-2025/) - [Article 134 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [How Army General Article Cases Ended in 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-2024/) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.