Army Trial Counsel in Contested Article 134 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 2023–2026
The Army records hold 66 contested courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article) from 2023 through mid-2026. In the 59 cases that list a trial counsel of record, the median prior-case count of the most experienced prosecutor on the team was 10.
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Short answer: The Army records hold 66 contested courts-martial charging Article 134 (general article) from 2023 through mid-2026. In the 59 cases that list a trial counsel of record, the median prior-case count of the most experienced prosecutor on the team was 10. Full acquittals were less common here than across contested Army cases, 30% (20 of 66) compared with 40%, and 83% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 68%.
Verdicts and Discharges in Contested Article 134 Cases
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a full not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. All 66 cases on this page are contested and include an Article 134 charge.
Of those 66 cases, 20 ended in a full acquittal, meaning a finding of not guilty on every charge. That is 30%, lower than the 40% rate for all contested Army cases tried in the same years.
Among convicted enlisted members, 83% received a punitive discharge. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge; for officers the equivalent is a dismissal. The rate for all contested Army cases in those years was 68%. These are sentences as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
How Prior Cases Are Counted
On this page, experience means one thing: how many courts-martial a lawyer had already been counsel of record on in this data, on either side, in the Army, before the trial date. It does not measure skill. A lawyer may also have tried cases before the records begin, and those earlier cases are not counted.
Most cases list more than one trial counsel of record, and the records do not say who led. Each case is therefore placed by the prior-case count of its most experienced trial counsel of record. Nothing on this page rates or ranks any lawyer.
Prior-Case Counts of the Prosecution Teams
Trial counsel of record are listed in 59 of the 66 cases. The median prior-case count for the most experienced trial counsel on those teams was 10.
The largest group was 10 to 19 prior cases, with 19 cases (32%). Another 13 cases (22%) had a trial counsel of record with 20 or more prior cases. At the lower end, 14 cases (24%) fell in the 1 to 4 range and 12 cases (20%) in the 5 to 9 range.
Only 1 case (2%) had a prosecution team in which no trial counsel of record had a prior case in this data.
| Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 1 | 2% |
| 1 to 4 | 14 | 24% |
| 5 to 9 | 12 | 20% |
| 10 to 19 | 19 | 32% |
| 20 or more | 13 | 22% |
Acquittals Across Experience Levels
The table below sets the 59 contested cases that reached a verdict and list a trial counsel against full and partial acquittals. A partial acquittal means a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another.
Full acquittals were 36% in the 1 to 4 group, 33% in the 5 to 9 group, and 37% in the 10 to 19 group. In the 13 cases where the most experienced trial counsel of record had 20 or more prior cases, the full acquittal rate was lower, at 15%. Partial acquittals were between 50% and 58% in every group with more than 1 case.
These rows describe outcomes only. The records do not show the evidence, the plea offers, or which lawyer did the work, so they cannot show whether experience had any effect on a verdict.
| Prior cases (most experienced trial counsel) | Contested cases | Full acquittal | Partial acquittal |
|---|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 1 | 1 of 1 | 0 of 1 |
| 1 to 4 | 14 | 36% | 50% |
| 5 to 9 | 12 | 33% | 58% |
| 10 to 19 | 19 | 37% | 53% |
| 20 or more | 13 | 15% | 54% |
Team Size on the Prosecution Side
Two trial counsel of record was the usual arrangement. Of the 59 cases, 46 listed 2, 6 listed 1, and 7 listed 3 or more.
Which Side Had More Prior Cases?
In 59 cases, lawyers are listed for both the defense and the prosecution. Comparing the most experienced counsel of record on each side, the trial counsel had more prior cases in 34 cases (58%) and fewer in 24 (41%). The rest were tied.
Year-by-Year Count and the Rule Changes
Cases on this page ran from January 2023 through June 2026: 30 in 2023, 21 in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 in 2026. The 2026 figure covers only part of the year.
Two changes took effect in this period. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records do not give, so trials from 2024 on mix cases under the old and new rules.
Coverage and Gaps
Army counsel names are nearly complete from 2021. This page begins in 2023 so that most lawyers already have earlier cases in the data. Names spelled in different ways are merged the same way as on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps records list counsel only from mid-2025, mostly by surname, so they are left out.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not include matters handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
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)
- Who Defended Contested Army Article 134 Cases? Defense Counsel Experience, 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.