What the Army Tried in April 2021
The Army tried 67 courts-martial in April 2021, and 48% were contested, compared with 36% for the Army across 2021. Conspiracy under Article 81 appeared in 9% of cases, compared with 4% for the year. 32% of convictions included more than one year of confinement, compared with 26%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Army tried 67 courts-martial in April 2021, and 48% were contested, compared with 36% for the Army across 2021. Conspiracy under Article 81 appeared in 9% of cases, compared with 4% for the year. 32% of convictions included more than one year of confinement, compared with 26%.
A Month With Many Contested Cases
A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In April 2021, 32 cases were contested and 35 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 48%, higher than the 36% for the Army that year.
Of the 35 guilty pleas, 30 are recorded with a plea agreement and 5 have no entry. Army records note whether an agreement existed, not what it contained.
How the Contested Cases Ended
Of 31 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (29%), compared with 35% for the year. Another 13 were partial acquittals: the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common.
Results differed by who decided guilt. Members acquitted the accused of all charges in 6 of 15 contested cases (40%). Military judges alone did so in 3 of 16 (19%). Members heard 16 of the 32 contested cases in all, and the accused usually chooses the forum.
Convictions by Charge
Among the top articles, Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) most often ended in a conviction on that article: 12 of 14 cases (86%). The median confinement was 5 months. Article 134, the general article, least often did: 10 of 16 (62%). The median confinement was 1.3 years.
Article 128 (assault) ended in a conviction on that article in 18 of 27 cases (67%), with a median confinement of 6 months. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) did so in 15 of 21 (71%). Those convictions had the longest median confinement, 3 years. One case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
Pleas also differed by charge. Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 50% of the time (8 of 16). Cases charging Article 120 did so 14% of the time (3 of 21). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 27 | 18 (67%) | 6 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 21 | 15 (71%) | 3 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 16 | 10 (62%) | 1.3 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 14 | 12 (86%) | 5 months |
What Was Charged
Charge lists exist for 66 of the 67 cases, and each article counts once per case. Article 128 was the most common, at 41%, compared with 38% for the year. Article 120 appeared in 32%, compared with 29%. Article 134 appeared in 24%, compared with 21%.
Article 92 appeared in 21% of cases, compared with 16%. Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 6 cases, or 9%. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 14%, Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) in 11%, and Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) in 9%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 27 | 41% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 21 | 32% | 29% |
| Art. 134 General article | 16 | 24% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 14 | 21% | 16% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 9 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 11% | 12% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 6 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 6 | 9% | 4% |
Confinement
Of 57 convictions, 45 included confinement (79%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the Army median for the year. A quarter of sentences were 3 years or more.
Sentences longer than one year made up 18 of 57 convictions (32%), compared with 26% across the Army. 11% were 5 years or more, compared with 8%. These are adjudged sentences. They cover all charges and are set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 12 | 21% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 20 | 35% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 12% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 21% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 6 | 11% | 8% |
General Courts-Martial and Discharges
General courts-martial made up 49 of the 67 cases (73%), the same share as the Army for the year. Their median confinement was 1.6 years, and 51% were contested. Special courts-martial are capped at one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. At the 18 special courts-martial, the median confinement was 2 months, and 39% were contested.
A punitive discharge followed 69% of enlisted convictions, compared with 70% for the year: 16 bad-conduct and 18 dishonorable. Of 8 convicted officers or warrant officers, 5 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Forum, Rank, and Installations
A military judge alone decided 51 cases. Members heard 16 (15 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel), or 24%. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 52% of the accused, NCOs 36%, and officers 12%. The junior enlisted share for the Army that year was 58%.
Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, Wheeler Army Airfield, and Fort Bliss tried 6 cases each, and Camp Humphreys tried 5. Together they account for 43% of the month's cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself point to a problem at a base.
What the Records Cover and Do Not Show
The services had to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, so no earlier April is available for comparison.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in April 2021 (67 cases), compared with the whole year.
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
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What the Army Tried in March 2021 (previous / next)
- What the Army Tried in May 2021 (previous / next)
- How 2021 Went at Army Courts-Martial (the whole year)
- April 2023 at Army Courts-Martial: 49 Cases
- April 2024 at Army Courts-Martial: 46 Cases
- Army Courts-Martial, August 2025: The Month in Review
- Army Courts-Martial, December 2024: The Month in Review
- 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.