Army Article 92 Trials Before a Military Judge Alone: Verdicts and Sentences

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Based on 52 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Convictions Without Confinement

41 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Only 25 of those sentences included confinement (61%). No confinement followed 16 convictions (39%), compared with 33% in all contested Army Article 92 cases.

Among the sentences with confinement, the median was 1.7 years, compared with 1 year in all contested Army Article 92 cases. A quarter of those sentences were 2.7 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Sentence Bands

16 of 41 convictions (39%) included more than one year of confinement, more often than the 33% in all contested Army Article 92 cases. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 29%, compared with 18%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 10%, compared with 14%.

Fewer convictions fell in the shorter bands. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 2% of convictions, compared with 9%, and sentences under 6 months made up 20%, compared with 25%.

General and Special Courts-Martial

38 cases were general courts-martial and 14 were special courts-martial. The general share, 73%, compares with 76% in all contested Army Article 92 cases.

The median confinement was 2 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.

Verdicts in the Contested Cases

All 52 cases were contested: the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, and none pleaded guilty. 11 of the 52 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (21%), lower than the 25% in all contested Army Article 92 cases.

34 cases (65%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common in Army records.

Charges Tried With the Orders Violation

6 of the 52 cases charged Article 92 by itself. Across all contested Army Article 92 cases, 7 of 102 did. Article 120 (sexual assault) was the most common added charge, in 19 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 16, Article 134 (the general article) in 15, and Article 131b (obstruction) and Article 93 (maltreatment) in 7 each.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case. An orders violation tried with a sexual assault charge receives one sentence for both.

Discharges for the Convicted

Among 36 enlisted members convicted, 16 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (44%), about as often as in all contested Army Article 92 cases (45%). 8 of the 16 were dishonorable discharges.

5 convicted officers or warrant officers appear here, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

The Accused and the Forum

By rank, the accused were 33 NCOs, 13 junior enlisted members, and 6 officers. The group is similar to all contested Army Article 92 cases.

Every case here was decided by a military judge alone. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt, so judge-alone cases are not a random sample. These results describe what happened, not what the forum caused.

Trial Years and Installations

The cases were tried between January 2021 and December 2025: 18 in 2021, 16 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 7 in 2024, and 3 in 2025. Fort Hood had 10 cases, Vilseck (Europe) and Camp Humphreys 5 each, and Fort Carson and Joint Base Lewis-McChord 3 each. Those five installations account for 50% of the 52 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Changes in the Law and Data Limits

Special trial counsel, not commanders, have decided since December 28, 2023 whether covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder are prosecuted. Under a second change, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Neither can be tracked here, because the records give trial dates and not offense dates.

Orders violations handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not in these records, and the records do not describe the evidence.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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.