Is Army Disobeying An Officer Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 90, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 90 › Army

Based on 155 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

About the Same Share Each Year

The Army records hold 155 cases that charged Article 90 from January 2021 to December 2025. There were 42 in 2021, 28 in 2022, 33 in 2023, 28 in 2024, and 24 in 2025. They are 6% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

Counts alone can be misleading when the total number of cases changes, so this post also uses the share of convictions. Article 90 was part of 8% of Army convictions with offenses listed in 2021, 5% in 2022, and 6% in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025. The number of such convictions was highest in 2021, at 38.

Few Full Acquittals, Many Partial Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 38 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (13%). Across all Army cases, the rate was 38%.

Partial acquittals were more common: 29 of the 38 ended not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data.

Full acquittals came in 2 of 23 contested cases decided by members (9%) and 2 of 14 contested cases decided by a judge alone (14%).

Disobedience Was Rarely the Only Charge

Article 90 was the only charge in 6 of the 155 cases. The most common other charge was Article 128 (assault), in 59 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 43, Article 134 (the general article) in 42, Article 112a (drug offenses) in 32, and Article 86 (absence without leave) in 24.

Every sentence covers all charges in the case. The sentences below include punishment for these other offenses as well as the disobedience charge.

Pleas and Forum

Of the 155 cases, 117 ended in guilty pleas and 38 were contested. The contested share was 25%, compared with 30% in all Army cases in those years.

Army records show whether a guilty plea came with a plea agreement, but not its terms. Of the 117 guilty pleas, 106 are recorded with an agreement and 11 have no entry.

Members heard 16% of cases with a forum listed: 21 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 130. Among contested cases, members heard 23 of 37 (62%). The accused usually chooses the forum.

Confinement

Of 150 convictions, 135 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as across the Army. A quarter of sentences were 1.5 years or longer.

Sentences longer than one year were about as common as in the rest of the Army: 46 of 150 convictions (31%), compared with 28%. Only 10% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 17% in the rest of the Army. These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Court Level, Discharge, and Dismissal

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, heard 73% of the 150 cases with a court level listed (109 of 150). The court level is not listed for 5 cases. The median confinement there was 1 year, and 28% were contested. Special courts-martial are capped at one year of confinement. The median confinement there was 3 months, and 17% were contested.

Of 138 convicted enlisted members, 99 received a punitive discharge: 75 bad-conduct and 24 dishonorable. Across the Army, the share was 73%. Of 12 convicted officers or warrant officers, 5 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Rank and Installation

By rank, the accused were 99 junior enlisted members, 43 NCOs, and 13 officers. This group was more junior than all Army cases in those years.

Fort Bragg tried the most of these cases (17). Fort Bliss tried 16, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 13, and Fort Hood and Fort Campbell 11 each. Those five installations had 44% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

Rules and What the Records Do Not Show

Army data begins in December 2020, when public trial records under Article 140a started. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, 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 give trial dates only, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules.

Disobedience handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not included. The records do not show the evidence or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 90 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: 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.