Not Guilty Pleas in Army Article 91 Cases: What Happened at Trial

Trends › By Offense › Article 91 › Not Guilty Pleas in Army Article 91 Case

Based on 20 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Article 91 covers insubordinate conduct toward warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and petty officers, such as disobeying or striking them or being disrespectful. The Army records hold 20 courts-martial from January 2021 through December 2025 in which the accused contested a charge under it.

Only 6 cases were tried at a general court-martial. Special courts-martial heard 12, and the level is not listed for 2. The general share among cases with a court level listed was 33%, compared with 85% across all contested Army cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone. In that form, confinement is capped at six months and no punitive discharge is allowed. The records used here do not show how many of the 12 special courts-martial took that form.

Short Confinement Terms

Of 17 convictions, 10 included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 1.5 years for all contested Army cases in those years.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case, not just the insubordination charge. With only 17 convictions, the median is based on a small number of sentences.

Few Punitive Discharges

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One was adjudged in 29% of enlisted convictions: 3 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. Across contested Army cases, the share was 64%.

Every accused here was enlisted, so there are no officer dismissals. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which court-martial records do not include.

Few Full Acquittals

Of the 20 contested cases, 3 ended in a full acquittal (15%), lower than the 38% for all contested Army cases. Another 13 (65%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another.

Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data. There were 0 guilty pleas, so every case here was contested on at least one charge.

Judges Decided Most of These Cases

A military judge alone decided guilt in 12 cases, and enlisted panels decided 8. No case went to an officer panel. Members heard 40% of the cases, compared with 60% across contested Army cases.

The accused usually chooses whether a judge or a panel decides guilt. This post does not report acquittal rates by forum for this small group.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 91 was the only charge in 3 of 20 cases. The most common other charges were Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 86 (AWOL) in 7 cases each, Article 89 (disrespect) in 6, and Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 134 (general article) in 5 each.

Sexual assault was charged in 5 cases, so some of these trials involved more serious charges than insubordination. The sentence covers every charge, so the records cannot show which charge led to any part of a sentence, including the 2 dishonorable discharges.

Rank, Years, and Installations

By rank, the accused were 9 junior enlisted members and 11 NCOs. There were 0 officers. This mix is similar to contested Army cases overall.

The yearly counts were small: 5 in 2021, 7 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 5 in 2025. Wheeler Army Airfield tried 4 cases, Fort Hood 3, and Fort Irwin, Fort Sill, and Fort Drum 2 each. Those five installations had 65% of the 20 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. Military judges set sentences within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give no offense dates, so 2024 and 2025 trials include cases under both the old and new rules.

Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.