July 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 43 Cases
The Army tried 43 courts-martial in July 2021. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) appeared in 21% of them, compared with 16% for the Army across 2021. 74% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Army tried 43 courts-martial in July 2021. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) appeared in 21% of them, compared with 16% for the Army across 2021. 74% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% for the year. All 3 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed.
Punitive Discharges and Dismissals
Of 35 convicted enlisted members, 26 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (74%), and 4 of those were dishonorable. For enlisted members, those are the punitive discharges a court-martial can adjudge.
The officer equivalent is dismissal. All 3 convicted officers or warrant officers in July 2021 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
Article 120 Cases Had the Lowest Conviction Rate
Of 11 cases charging Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), 4 ended in a conviction on that article (36%). The median confinement for those convictions was 1.5 years. Article 128 (assault) cases ended in a conviction on that article in 12 of 14 cases (86%), with a median of 3 months.
Article 134 (general article) cases did so in 9 of 11 cases (82%), with a median of 1.4 years. Article 92 cases did so in 7 of 9, with a median of 4 months. These rows overlap, since one case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
Guilty pleas also differed by charge. Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 82% of the time (9 of 11). Cases charging Article 120 did so 27% of the time (3 of 11). The records do not explain 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 | 14 | 12 (86%) | 3 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 4 (36%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 9 (82%) | 1.4 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 4 months |
What Was Charged
All 43 records list charges, with each article counted once per case. Article 128 was the most common, at 33%, compared with 38% for 2021. Article 134 appeared in 26%, compared with 21%. Article 120 appeared in 26%, compared with 29%.
Some less common articles appeared more often than for the year. Article 115 (communicating threats) appeared in 9% of cases, compared with 6%. Article 108 (military property; loss, damage, destruction) appeared in 7%, compared with 3%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 33% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 26% | 29% |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 26% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 21% | 16% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 6 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 4 | 9% | 6% |
| Art. 108 Military property; loss, damage, destruction | 3 | 7% | 3% |
Contested Cases
There were 28 guilty pleas and 15 contested cases. The contested share was 35%, about the same as the 36% for the year. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. All 28 guilty pleas have a plea agreement on record. The records do not show the terms.
Of 15 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (33%), about the same as the 35% for the Army in 2021. Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal. Members heard 9 of the 15 contested cases (60%).
Sentences by Court Level
Confinement was part of 76% of the 38 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median for the year. A quarter of sentences were 1.4 years or longer. 9 convictions (24%) included no confinement, compared with 19% across the Army.
The month had 27 general courts-martial. Their median confinement was 1 year, and 33% were contested. There were 16 special courts-martial. Their median was 3 months, and 38% were contested. A special court-martial is capped at one year, so all 9 sentences longer than one year came from general courts-martial. Those 9 are 24% of convictions, about the same as the 26% for the year.
Every sentence here is as adjudged at trial for all charges, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 24% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 37% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 16% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 16% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 8% | 8% |
Rank and Who Decided Guilt
The accused were 29 junior enlisted members, 11 NCOs, and 3 officers. This group was more junior than the Army over 2021. General courts-martial made up 63% of cases (27 of 43).
A military judge alone decided 34 cases, enlisted panels 7, and officer panels 2. Members heard 21% of cases, compared with 22% for the year. The accused usually chooses the forum, and most guilty pleas go to a military judge alone.
Where Cases Were Tried
Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 8 cases, Fort Campbell 6, Fort Bragg 5, and Fort Hood and Vilseck (Europe) 3 each. Together they had 58% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more of every kind of case.
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 July for comparison.
Only cases that reached a courtroom appear. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed without action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in July 2021 (43 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 June 2021 (previous / next)
- August 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 35 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.