Who Defended Contested Army Article 92 Cases? Defense Counsel Experience, 2023–2026
Of 38 contested Army courts-martial charging Article 92 (orders violation) from January 2023 through July 2026, 35 list a defense counsel of record, and the median prior-case count of the most experienced defense lawyer on the team was 8.
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Short answer: Of 38 contested Army courts-martial charging Article 92 (orders violation) from January 2023 through July 2026, 35 list a defense counsel of record, and the median prior-case count of the most experienced defense lawyer on the team was 8. Full acquittals were 21% (8 of 38), below the 40% rate for contested Army cases. Punitive discharges were also less common: 48% of convicted enlisted members, compared with 68%.
Lower Rates of Both Acquittal and Punitive Discharge
Article 92 covers violations of lawful orders and regulations. All 38 cases here are contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.
Full acquittals, where the accused is found not guilty on every charge, came in 8 of the 38 cases (21%). Contested Army cases as a whole had a 40% full acquittal rate in the same years.
At sentencing, 48% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, which is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. For contested Army cases overall, the rate was 68%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, and all sentences are as adjudged at trial.
Experience Means Prior Cases in This Data
Here a lawyer's experience is the count of courts-martial on which that lawyer had already been counsel of record in this data, on either side, in the Army, before the trial date. The count is not a judgment of skill. A lawyer may have handled cases before the records begin, and those are not counted.
Defense teams often list more than one lawyer, with no lead named. Each case is grouped by its most experienced defense counsel of record. Nothing here ranks or rates anyone.
Prior-Case Counts for Defense Teams
Of the 38 cases, 35 list at least one defense counsel of record. The median prior-case count for the most experienced of them was 8.
Most cases fell in the middle ranges: 13 cases (37%) had a most experienced defense counsel with 10 to 19 prior cases and 12 cases (34%) with 5 to 9. Another 7 cases (20%) were in the 1 to 4 group, and 2 cases (6%) reached 20 or more. In 1 case (3%), no defense counsel of record had a prior case in this data.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 1 | 3% |
| 1 to 4 | 7 | 20% |
| 5 to 9 | 12 | 34% |
| 10 to 19 | 13 | 37% |
| 20 or more | 2 | 6% |
What Verdicts Looked Like at Each Level
The 35 contested cases that reached a verdict and list a defense counsel appear in the table. A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another.
The two largest groups had similar figures. With 5 to 9 prior cases, 25% of cases ended in a full acquittal and 67% in a partial acquittal. With 10 to 19, the figures were 23% and 54%. In the 1 to 4 group, 1 of 7 cases ended in a full acquittal and 6 of 7 in a partial acquittal. Both cases in the 20 or more group ended in a partial acquittal.
The table describes outcomes. Since the records do not show the evidence, plea offers, or who did the work, it does not show whether experience made any difference.
| Prior cases (most experienced defense counsel) | Contested cases | Full acquittal | Partial acquittal |
|---|---|---|---|
| No prior cases | 1 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 1 |
| 1 to 4 | 7 | 1 of 7 | 6 of 7 |
| 5 to 9 | 12 | 25% | 67% |
| 10 to 19 | 13 | 23% | 54% |
| 20 or more | 2 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 2 |
One, Two, or More Defense Lawyers
Among the 35 cases with defense counsel listed, 23 had 2 defense counsel of record, 9 had 1, and 3 had 3 or more.
Comparing the Two Sides
There are 34 cases with lawyers listed on both sides. When the most experienced counsel of record for the defense and for the prosecution are compared, the defense counsel had more prior cases in 16 cases (47%) and fewer in 18 (53%).
The Years Covered and the Rules That Changed
There were 15 cases in 2023, 13 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 3 so far in 2026, a partial year.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel instead of commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. If every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Because both rules turn on offense dates, and the records do not give them, trials from 2024 on include cases under each set of rules.
What the Records Leave Out
Army counsel names are nearly complete from 2021. This page starts two years later so that most lawyers have earlier cases in the data. Names that appear in several forms are merged in the same way as on Learn Your Lawyer. Navy and Marine Corps counsel are listed only from mid-2025 and mostly by surname, so they are not included.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not in them.
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.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with trial dates in 2023–2026 that charged Article 92 and had a not-guilty or mixed plea (38 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 92 (Failure to Obey Order or Regulation): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Trial Counsel in Contested Article 92 Cases: Prior Cases and Verdicts, 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 92 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.