What the Army Tried in March 2024
The Army tried 55 courts-martial in March 2024, and 38% were contested. That share was higher than the 27% for the Army across 2024. Of 20 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (45%), compared with 37% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Army tried 55 courts-martial in March 2024, and 38% were contested. That share was higher than the 27% for the Army across 2024. Of 20 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (45%), compared with 37% for the year. Of the 45 convictions, 96% included confinement.
A Higher Contested Share
In 21 of the 55 cases, the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Those are the contested cases. The other 34 ended in guilty pleas. The contested share was 38%, compared with 27% for the Army across 2024.
Plea agreements are recorded for 33 of the 34 guilty pleas, and 1 has no entry. The records show that an agreement existed but not what it said.
More Full Acquittals Than for the Year
Of 20 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (45%). That rate was higher than the 37% for the year. Another 9 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
Partial acquittals appear often in Army records. Army results are reported for each charge, not for the case as a whole.
Almost Every Conviction Included Confinement
Of the 45 convictions, 96% included confinement. Only 2 convictions (4%) had no confinement, compared with 13% for the Army in 2024. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median for the year. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or more.
More than a year of confinement was given in 14 of 45 convictions (31%), about the same as the 28% for the year. Terms between 6 months and 1 year made up 24%, compared with 15%. These are adjudged sentences that cover every charge in a case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 2 | 4% | 13% |
| Under 6 months | 18 | 40% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 11 | 24% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 27% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 4% | 7% |
Which Articles Were Charged
Of the 55 records, 54 list charges. Each article counts once per case. Article 134 (general article), Article 128 (assault), and Article 120 (sexual assault) were each charged in 11 cases (20%). For Article 120, that share was higher than the 15% for the year.
Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 10 cases (19%), lower than the 23% for 2024. Article 92 (orders violations) was also charged less often: 7%, compared with 12%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 20% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 11 | 20% | 23% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 20% | 15% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 19% | 23% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 6 | 11% | 9% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 9% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 7% | 12% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 4 | 7% | 4% |
Conviction Rates by Charge
All 11 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 6 months. Article 128 cases ended in a conviction in 9 of 11 (82%), with a median of 1.2 years. Article 128b cases ended in a conviction on that article in 7 of 10 (70%), with a median of 4 months.
Article 120 had the lowest conviction rate: 5 of 11 cases (45%). Those convictions had a median of 2.2 years. Article 120 cases also had fewer guilty pleas: 27% (3 of 11), compared with 64% for Article 134 (7 of 11). The rows overlap because one case can include convictions and acquittals on different articles.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 11 (100%) | 6 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 11 | 9 (82%) | 1.2 years |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 5 (45%) | 2.2 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 7 (70%) | 4 months |
Discharges and Dismissals
Of 40 convicted enlisted members, 30 received a punitive discharge: 19 bad-conduct discharges and 11 dishonorable discharges. The Army share for 2024 was 72%. Of 5 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed. A member without a punitive discharge can still be separated administratively.
A Senior Group, Mostly at General Courts-Martial
Junior enlisted members made up 49% of the accused, NCOs 35%, and officers 16%. Across the Army that year, junior enlisted members were 53%.
General courts-martial made up 43 cases (81% of cases with a court level listed, compared with 75% for the year). A general court-martial can adjudge more than a year of confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial made up 10 cases, and 2 have no level listed. The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 10 months, and 44% were contested. The special courts-martial had a median of 55 days, and 20% were contested.
Of cases with a forum listed, members decided 26%: 9 enlisted panels and 5 officer panels. A military judge alone decided 40. Among contested cases, members heard 14 of 20 (70%).
Where the Trials Were Held
Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 6 cases, Fort Carson 5, and Kaiserslautern (Europe), Wheeler Army Airfield, and Fort Bragg 4 each. Together these installations account for 42% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every type.
Compared With March 2023
March 2023 had 50 cases. The contested share was 38% in March 2024, compared with 32% in March 2023. Full acquittals were 9 of 20, compared with 7 of 16. Convictions that included confinement were 96%, compared with 84%. The median confinement was 6 months in both months. Enlisted punitive discharges were 75%, compared with 73%. The general court-martial share was 81%, compared with 70%. Monthly groups are small, and a few cases can change these figures.
| March 2023 | March 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 50 | 55 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 32% | 38% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 16 | 9 of 20 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 96% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 73% | 75% |
| General courts-martial | 70% | 81% |
New Rules and Missing Offense Dates
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges also sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. Cases from 2024 include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the records cannot connect any change to these rules. Nonjudicial punishment, evidence, and plea terms are also not in the records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in March 2024 (55 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, February 2024: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- April 2024 at Army Courts-Martial: 46 Cases (previous / next)
- The Army Court-Martial Year, 2024 (the whole year)
- April 2023 at Army Courts-Martial: 49 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.