Army Courts-Martial, December 2024: The Month in Review
Domestic violence was the most common charge in the Army's 26 courts-martial in December 2024. Article 128b appeared in 38% of cases, compared with 23% across the Army in 2024. More cases were contested: 35%, compared with 27% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › December 2024
Short answer: Domestic violence was the most common charge in the Army's 26 courts-martial in December 2024. Article 128b appeared in 38% of cases, compared with 23% across the Army in 2024. More cases were contested: 35%, compared with 27% for the year. Sentences of more than one year were more common: 8 of 23 convictions (35%), compared with 28% for the year.
Article 128b and Obstruction Charges
All 26 records list their charges, and an article counts once in each case that charges it. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 10 cases, or 38%, compared with 23% for the year.
Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 5 cases (19%), compared with 6% for 2024. Article 128 (assault) was also charged in 5 cases (19%), compared with 23% for the year. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 4 (15%), the same share as the year. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) appeared in 8%, compared with 3%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 38% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 19% | 23% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 5 | 19% | 6% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 15% | 15% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 8% | 9% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 8% | 7% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 2 | 8% | 3% |
More Cases Were Contested
17 accused pleaded guilty, and 9 contested at least one charge, either with a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. The contested share was 35%, compared with 27% for the Army across 2024.
All 17 guilty pleas were recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show only that an agreement existed, not its terms. Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 of 9 ended in a full acquittal.
Punitive Discharges Were Slightly More Common Than for the Year
Among 22 convicted enlisted members, 17 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (77%), and 6 of those were dishonorable. The Army share across 2024 was 72%. These are the punitive discharges. The officer equivalent is dismissal.
Only 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in the month, and that officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, and these records would not show it.
Short Median, Some Long Sentences
Confinement was part of 87% of the 23 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months for the Army in 2024. A quarter of sentences were 2 years or longer.
10 convictions (43%) included under 6 months of confinement, the same share as the year. 8 (35%) included more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 21%. Overall, 8 of 23 convictions (35%) included more than one year, compared with 28% for 2024. No sentence was 5 years or more.
A sentence over one year requires a general court-martial. A special court-martial is limited to one year. All terms are adjudged sentences for every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 13% | 13% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 43% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 9% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 35% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 7% |
Compared With December 2023
December 2023 had 28 cases. The contested share went from 43% to 35%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 12 to 3 of 9.
The median confinement went from 9 months to 5 months. Convictions with confinement went from 71% to 87%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 47% to 77%. Single months include few cases, so a few cases can account for changes like these.
| December 2023 | December 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28 | 26 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 43% | 35% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 12 | 3 of 9 |
| Convictions with confinement | 71% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 9 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 47% | 77% |
| General courts-martial | 80% | 68% |
The 2023 Law Changes
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, a group that includes sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For cases where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.
Both changes depend on the offense date. The records list only trial dates, so 2024 trials include a mix of cases under old and new rules. The data cannot sort them or show whether either change affected these figures.
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided 21 cases. Enlisted panels heard 4, and no officer panel heard a case. Members heard 16% of cases, about the same as 15% for the year. The accused usually chooses the forum, and most guilty pleas go to a military judge alone.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 54% of the accused, NCOs 42%, and officers 4%. The junior enlisted share for the year was about the same, 53%. General courts-martial, which can adjudge long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 17 of the 25 cases with a court level listed (68%). The court level is not listed for 1 case.
Installations and What the Records Do Not Show
Fort Bliss tried 4 cases, Fort Bragg 3, and Vilseck (Europe), Fort Campbell, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord 2 each. Together they had 50% of the month's cases. Large installations try more cases of every type.
The records cover trial results only. They do not give offense dates and do not describe the evidence or plea-agreement terms. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are 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 December 2024 (26 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 November 2024 (previous / next)
- January 2025 at Army Courts-Martial: 45 Cases (previous / next)
- The Army Court-Martial Year, 2024 (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 2025: 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.