August 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 35 Cases
Most of the Army's 35 courts-martial in August 2021 ended in guilty pleas, and sentences were shorter than for the year. Only 26% were contested, compared with 36% for the Army across 2021. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › August 2021
Short answer: Most of the Army's 35 courts-martial in August 2021 ended in guilty pleas, and sentences were shorter than for the year. Only 26% were contested, compared with 36% for the Army across 2021. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months. Only 2 of 28 convictions included more than one year of confinement.
Few Sentences Longer Than One Year
Of 28 convictions, 2 (7%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 26% across the Army that year. None was 5 years or more. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 8% of convictions across the Army. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 29% of convictions, compared with 17% for the year. Sentences under 6 months made up 39%. Another 25% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 19%.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial for every charge in a case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 25% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 39% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 29% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 7% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 8% |
Confinement and Its Median
Confinement was part of 21 of the 28 convictions (75%). The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months for the year. A quarter of sentences were 9 months or longer.
General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 23 of the 35 cases (66%). Their median confinement was 6 months. Special courts-martial are capped at one year and a bad-conduct discharge. The median at the 12 special courts-martial was 3 months.
Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In August 2021, 26 accused pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge. At general courts-martial, 22% of cases were contested; at special courts-martial, 33%.
Of the 26 guilty pleas, 24 are recorded with a plea agreement and 2 have no entry. Army records note whether an agreement existed but not its terms.
A military judge alone decided 31 cases. Members heard 4, all enlisted panels, or 11% of the month. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum split mostly follows how many cases were contested. The accused usually chooses the forum.
Assault Was Less Common Than for the Year
Every case lists its charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 134, the general article, was the most common, at 26%, compared with 21% for the Army in 2021. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 23%, compared with 38% for the year. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 20%, compared with 29%.
Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, appeared in 20%, compared with 16%. Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) each appeared in 14%, Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) in 11%, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 9%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 26% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 23% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 20% | 29% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 7 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 5 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 4 | 11% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 9% | 6% |
Results for the Top Charges
7 of 8 cases charging Article 128 ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement was 3 months. 7 of 9 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 8 months.
These counts are small, and a single case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 8 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 3 months |
Punitive Discharges
Among 27 convicted enlisted members, 18 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (67%), compared with 70% for the year. Only 2 of the 18 were dishonorable. A bad-conduct discharge is the lesser of the punitive discharges and the most a special court-martial can impose.
The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.
Rank and Installations
The accused were 17 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 17 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer. This group was more senior than the Army overall in 2021.
Fort Carson and Fort Bliss tried 4 cases each, Fort Hood and Fort Bragg 3 each, and Fort Drum 2. Those five installations account for 46% of the month's cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not mean a base is unusual.
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 there is no earlier August to compare.
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not included.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in August 2021 (35 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)
- July 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 43 Cases (previous / next)
- September 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 37 Cases (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.