January 2025 at Army Courts-Martial: 45 Cases
The Army's 45 courts-martial in January 2025 included few contested cases. Most of those ended in a full acquittal: 7 of 10, or 70%, compared with 45% for the Army across 2025. 82% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › January 2025
Short answer: The Army's 45 courts-martial in January 2025 included few contested cases. Most of those ended in a full acquittal: 7 of 10, or 70%, compared with 45% for the Army across 2025. 82% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% for the year.
Full Acquittals in Most Contested Cases
The month had 10 contested cases that reached a verdict. Contested means the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, whether fully or as a mixed plea. Of those 10, 7 ended in a full acquittal (70%). The other 3 ended in a partial acquittal (30%): not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
No contested case in the month ended with a conviction on every charge. Army results list findings charge by charge, which makes partial acquittals visible in this data.
Members Heard Almost All Contested Cases
A military judge alone decided guilt in 36 of 45 cases (80%). Members heard 9: 8 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Among contested cases, members heard 9 of 10 (90%).
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge or a panel of members decides guilt. Most guilty pleas go to a military judge alone, so the number of panels follows the number of contested cases.
Pleas and Agreements
There were 35 guilty pleas and 10 not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 22%, compared with 20% for the Army in 2025. All 35 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records note the agreement but not its terms.
Guilty pleas differed by charge. Cases charging Article 134 (general article) ended in a guilty plea 91% of the time (10 of 11). Cases charging Article 128b (domestic violence) did so 71% of the time (10 of 14). The records give no reasons for these choices.
Domestic Violence Was the Most Common Charge
All 45 cases have charge lists, and each article counts once per case. Article 128b appeared in 14 cases (31%), compared with 26% for the year. Article 134 appeared in 24%, compared with 22%.
Article 128 (assault) was less common than for the year: 13% compared with 19%. Article 82 (soliciting) appeared in 7% of cases, compared with 1% for 2025. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 9%, compared with 6%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 14 | 31% | 26% |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 24% | 22% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 13% | 19% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 9% | 6% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 9% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 7% | 8% |
| Art. 82 Soliciting | 3 | 7% | 1% |
Convictions on the Top Articles
All 11 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 6 months. Article 128b cases ended in a conviction on that article in 11 of 14 cases (79%), with a median of 4 months. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 14 | 11 (79%) | 4 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 11 (100%) | 6 months |
Confinement at Each Court Level
Of 38 convictions, 79% included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 8 months for 2025. A quarter of sentences were 2 years or longer.
At general courts-martial (31 cases), 85% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 11 months. At special courts-martial (13 cases), 64% did, and the median was 4 months. The court level is missing for 1 case. A special court-martial is capped at one year. 10 of 38 convictions (26%) included more than one year, compared with 30% for the year. 3 (8%) were 5 years or more.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial for every charge and recorded before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 21% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 37% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 16% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 18% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 8% | 11% |
Punitive Discharges and Rank
A punitive discharge followed 82% of enlisted convictions: 20 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. The accused were 19 junior enlisted members, 20 NCOs, and 6 officers. This group was more senior than the Army in 2025. Of 5 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed.
General courts-martial made up 31 of the 44 cases with a court level listed (70%), compared with 66% for the year. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Compared With January 2024, and Law Changes
January 2024 had 44 cases. The contested share went from 20% to 22%. The median confinement went from 4 months to 6 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 80% to 82%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 8 to 7 of 10. A few cases can change figures for small groups.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Military judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records do not give offense dates, so cases under old and new rules cannot be separated.
| January 2024 | January 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 44 | 45 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 20% | 22% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 8 | 7 of 10 |
| Convictions with confinement | 79% | 79% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 80% | 82% |
| General courts-martial | 82% | 70% |
Installations and What the Records Do Not Show
Fort Drum and Fort Bragg tried 5 cases each, Fort Bliss 4, and Fort Lee and Fort Gordon 3 each. Together they had 44% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases overall.
The records list trial dates, charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not give offense dates or describe the evidence or plea 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 January 2025 (45 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)
- Army Courts-Martial, December 2024: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- What the Army Tried in February 2025 (previous / next)
- Army Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review (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
- 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.