Army Article 82 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 82 › Army

Based on 35 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Sentences Were Longer Than One Year

Confinement was part of 91% of the 33 convictions. Half of those terms were 2.2 years or less. Across all Army cases, the median was 6 months. A quarter of sentences here were 4 years or longer.

Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 21 of 33 convictions (64%), compared with 28% across the Army. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 45% of convictions here, compared with 20% Army-wide. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 18%, compared with 8%. Only 4 convictions had confinement under 6 months.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.

Charges Filed With Solicitation

Only 2 of the 35 cases charged Article 82 alone. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 18 cases, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 10, Article 80 (attempt) in 8, Article 112a (drug) in 6, and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 4.

A sentence covers all the charges together. The records cannot separate the punishment for solicitation from the punishment for a child sexual abuse or attempt charge in the same case.

Almost All at General Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful punishment, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Here, 32 of the 35 cases were general courts-martial (91%), compared with 73% Army-wide. Only a general court-martial can adjudge sentences longer than one year.

Discharges After Most Convictions

Of 30 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 17 dishonorable and 10 bad-conduct. The Army-wide share was 73%.

The convicted also included 3 officers or warrant officers, and 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Pleas and Verdicts

Of 35 cases with a plea recorded, 25 were guilty pleas and 10 were contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 29%, about the same as the 30% Army-wide. Army records show whether there was a plea agreement but not its terms. Of the 25 guilty pleas, 23 are recorded with one, and 2 have no entry.

Full acquittals were less common than Army-wide. Of the 10 contested cases, 2 ended in a full acquittal (20%), compared with 38% across all Army cases. Another 5 were partial acquittals, with not-guilty findings on some charges and guilty findings on others. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear in the data.

Panels Heard Most Contested Cases

Members decided guilt in 17% of the cases with the forum listed: 3 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 29. Among contested cases, members heard 6 of 10 (60%). The accused usually chooses the forum, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

Cases by Year

The cases were tried from March 2021 to February 2025. There were 4 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 6 in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 4 in 2025. That is 1% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in the period. Convictions that included Article 82 peaked at 10 in 2022, or 2% of Army convictions with offenses listed.

The share was about the same at the start and end of the period: 13 of 891 convictions (1%) in 2021–2022 and 11 of 816 (1%) in 2024–2025. A share of convictions allows comparison between years with different total caseloads.

Rank and Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 54% of the accused, NCOs 37%, and officers 9%. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 55%, about the same as here.

Fort Hood had 5 cases and Joint Base Lewis-McChord 4. Wheeler Army Airfield, Fort Carson, and Fort Wainwright had 3 each. Those five installations had 51% of the 35 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, judges sentence within new parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. Army records here are sparse before 2021.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.