Who Defended Contested Army Article 134 Cases? Defense Counsel Experience, 2023–2026
Between 2023 and 2026, the Army tried 66 contested courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article). Of convicted enlisted members, 83% received a punitive discharge, compared with 68% across all contested Army cases, and 20 cases ended in a full acquittal (30%), compared with 40%.
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Short answer: Between 2023 and 2026, the Army tried 66 contested courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article). Of convicted enlisted members, 83% received a punitive discharge, compared with 68% across all contested Army cases, and 20 cases ended in a full acquittal (30%), compared with 40%. Defense counsel of record are listed in 60 cases, where the most experienced defense lawyer had a median of 8 prior cases.
Punitive Discharges and Full Acquittals
A punitive discharge, which is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge, followed 83% of enlisted convictions in these cases. In all contested Army cases from 2023–2026, the rate was 68%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Every case here was contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 66, 20 ended in a full acquittal on all charges (30%). The rate for all contested Army cases was 40%.
A Note on the Experience Measure
On this page, a lawyer's experience is the number of courts-martial in the Army data where that lawyer was already counsel of record before the trial date. Both defense and prosecution work count. The count leaves out cases from before the records begin and says nothing about skill.
Because the records do not identify a lead lawyer, each case is placed by its most experienced defense counsel of record. No lawyer is rated or ranked.
Experience Levels Among Defense Teams
The median prior-case count for the most experienced defense lawyer was 8. The groups were close in size: 20 cases (33%) in the 10 to 19 group, 18 (30%) in the 1 to 4 group, and 16 (27%) in the 5 to 9 group.
Another 6 cases (10%) had a defense lawyer with 20 or more prior cases. Every listed defense team had at least one lawyer with a prior case in this data.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 0 | 0% |
| 1 to 4 | 18 | 30% |
| 5 to 9 | 16 | 27% |
| 10 to 19 | 20 | 33% |
| 20 or more | 6 | 10% |
Verdicts Sorted by Defense Experience
The verdict table includes the 60 contested cases that reached a verdict and list a defense counsel. A partial acquittal means a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another.
In the 5 to 9 group, 50% of the 16 cases ended in a full acquittal and 44% in a partial acquittal. The 10 to 19 group had 30% full and 50% partial acquittals across 20 cases. The 1 to 4 group had 28% full and 67% partial across 18 cases. In the 20 or more group, none of the 6 cases ended in a full acquittal, and 3 of 6 ended in a partial acquittal.
The 20 or more group rests on only 6 verdicts, and the other groups are not large. The records leave out the evidence, plea offers, and who did the work. The rows therefore describe how cases ended, not any effect of experience.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Contested cases | Full acquittal | Partial acquittal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 18 | 28% | 67% |
| 5 to 9 | 16 | 50% | 44% |
| 10 to 19 | 20 | 30% | 50% |
| 20 or more | 6 | 0 of 6 | 3 of 6 |
Defense Team Size
The most common team size was 2 lawyers: 43 of the 60 cases list 2 defense counsel of record. Another 14 list 1, and 3 list 3 or more. A case with several defense lawyers is counted by the one with the most prior cases.
Defense and Prosecution Side by Side
Lawyers are listed on both sides in 59 cases. The most experienced defense counsel had fewer prior cases than the most experienced trial counsel, the prosecutor, in 34 of them (58%). The defense lawyer had more in 24 (41%). The rest were tied.
Cases by Year and Counsel Name Coverage
The data holds these cases from January 2023 to June 2026: 30 in 2023, 21 in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 in 2026. The 2026 count is a partial year.
Army records give counsel names nearly completely from 2021. Starting this page in 2023 allows most lawyers to carry earlier cases into their counts. Names written in more than one form are merged as on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps records list counsel only from mid-2025, mostly by surname, so they are not included.
Law Changes and Gaps
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder are prosecuted. Where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records list trial dates only, so 2024 and later trials mix the old and new rules.
These records cover what reached a courtroom. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in them, and they do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 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 134 and had a not-guilty or mixed plea (66 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
- Counsel Experience (hub)
- Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Trial Counsel in Contested Article 134 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 107 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 112a Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 115 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- Army Defense Counsel in Contested Article 120 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
- 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 134 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.