> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Army Courts-Martial, July 2023: The Month in Review - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-july-2023/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:11:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:18:21.000Z - Description: In the Army's 25 courts-martial of July 2023, 18 of 20 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (90%). The share for the Army across 2023 was 74%. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 8% for the year. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › July 2023 **Short answer:** In the Army's 25 courts-martial of July 2023, 18 of 20 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (90%). The share for the Army across 2023 was 74%. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 8% for the year. Based on 25 cases · July 2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## 90% Received a Punitive Discharge A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. Of 20 convicted enlisted members, 18 received one: 14 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. The Army-wide share for 2023 was 74%. The month also had 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and neither was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not include. ## Attempts, Burglary, and Domestic Violence Charges are listed for 24 of the 25 cases, and each article counts once per case. Article 80 (attempts), Article 128b (domestic violence), and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 6 cases, or 25%. The yearly shares were 8%, 21%, and 24%. Article 129 (burglary; unlawful entry) appeared in 17% of cases, compared with 3% for 2023\. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) appeared in 8%, compared with 3%. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 21%, compared with 26%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 17%, compared with 21%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 8% of cases, compared with 5% for the year. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2023 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------- | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 6 | 25% | 24% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 6 | 25% | 21% | | [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts | 6 | 25% | 8% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 5 | 21% | 26% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 17% | 21% | | Art. 129 Burglary; unlawful entry | 4 | 17% | 3% | | [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL | 2 | 8% | 5% | | Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 8% | 3% | ## Shorter Median Confinement The month had 22 convictions, and 77% included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months for the Army in 2023\. A quarter of sentences were 1.3 years or longer. 5 convictions (23%) included no confinement, compared with 16% for the year. 5 of 22 convictions (23%) included more than one year, compared with 28%. Of those, 4 (18%) were more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 21%. 1 (5%) was 5 years or more, compared with 8%. Sentences under 6 months were the most common: 9 convictions (41%), compared with 39%. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 3 (14%), compared with 16%. A special court-martial cannot adjudge more than a year, so longer sentences require a general court-martial. The figures are adjudged sentences for all charges in a case, recorded before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2023 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------- | | No confinement | 5 | 23% | 16% | | Under 6 months | 9 | 41% | 39% | | 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 14% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 18% | 21% | | 5 years or more | 1 | 5% | 8% | ## Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas 19 accused pleaded guilty, and 6 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 24%, lower than the 31% for the Army in 2023\. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 19 guilty pleas, 17 have a recorded plea agreement and 2 have no entry. The records show only whether an agreement existed. Among the contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 of 6 ended in a full acquittal. ## Who Faced Trial The accused were 16 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 2 officers. This group was more junior than the Army as a whole in 2023. General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 19 of 25 cases (76%). Special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can adjudge a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable one, so the 4 dishonorable discharges came from general courts-martial. ## Military Judge or Members A military judge alone decided 21 cases. Enlisted panels decided 3, and an officer panel decided 1\. Members heard 16% of cases, compared with 19% for the year. The accused usually chooses the forum. Most guilty pleas go to a military judge alone, so a month with few contested cases usually has few panels. ## Compared With July 2022 July 2022 had 24 cases. The contested share went from 33% to 24%. The median confinement went from 7 months to 5 months. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 1 of 8 to 3 of 6. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 83% to 90%. The general court-martial share went from 67% to 76%. Convictions with confinement went from 83% to 77%. A few cases can change numbers this small. | | July 2022 | July 2023 | | ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- | | Cases | 24 | 25 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 33% | 24% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 8 | 3 of 6 | | Convictions with confinement | 83% | 77% | | Median confinement | 7 months | 5 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 83% | 90% | | General courts-martial | 67% | 76% | ## Installations and What the Records Do Not Show Fort Hood tried 4 cases, and Fort Carson, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Fort Knox, and Fort Benning 2 each. Together they account for 48% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds. Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army courts-martial with a trial date in July 2023 (25 cases), compared with the whole year. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [Army Courts-Martial, June 2023: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-june-2023/) (previous / next) - [What the Army Tried in August 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-august-2023/) (previous / next) - [The Army Court-Martial Year, 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-2023-year-in-review/) (the whole year) - [April 2023 at Army Courts-Martial: 49 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-april-2023/) - [April 2024 at Army Courts-Martial: 46 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-april-2024/) - [Army Courts-Martial, August 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-august-2025/) - [Army Courts-Martial, December 2024: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-december-2024/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [Army Courts-Martial, June 2023: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-june-2023/)Next: [What the Army Tried in August 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial-august-2023/) → **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.