May 2025 at Army Courts-Martial: 45 Cases
The Army tried 45 courts-martial in May 2025. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 8 months for the Army across 2025. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) was charged in 19% of cases, compared with 8% for the year. Convictions on that article had a median confinement of 7 years.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Army tried 45 courts-martial in May 2025. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 8 months for the Army across 2025. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) was charged in 19% of cases, compared with 8% for the year. Convictions on that article had a median confinement of 7 years.
More Child Sexual Abuse Charges
Of the 45 records, 43 list charges. Each article is counted once per case. Article 120b was charged in 8 cases, a share of 19%, compared with 8% for the Army that year. Article 120 (adult rape and sexual assault) was also charged slightly more often than for the year: 14%, compared with 11%.
Domestic violence charges were less common. Article 128b was charged in 5 cases (12%), compared with 26% for 2025. Article 134 (general article) was the most common charge, in 10 cases (23%). Article 128 (assault) was next, in 9 cases (21%). Both shares were close to the yearly shares.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 23% | 22% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 21% | 19% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 8 | 19% | 8% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 14% | 11% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 12% | 26% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 7% | 8% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 5% | 2% |
More Long Sentences
There were 39 convictions, and 79% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 1 year. A quarter of terms were 4 years or longer. Terms of 5 years or more made up 18% of convictions, compared with 11% for the year.
In all, 15 of 39 convictions (38%) carried more than one year of confinement, compared with 30% for the Army in 2025. Another 21% had no confinement, about the same as the 19% for the year. These are sentences as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in its case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 21% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 31% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 10% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 21% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 7 | 18% | 11% |
Results for the Most Common Charges
All 10 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 1 year. Article 128 cases ended in a conviction in 7 of 9, with a median of 2.3 years. Article 120b cases ended in a conviction in 6 of 8. Those convictions had the longest median confinement: 7 years.
These rows can overlap, since one case can end with a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 10 (100%) | 1 year |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 2.3 years |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 8 | 6 (6 of 8) | 7 years |
Mostly General Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. In May 2025, general courts-martial made up 78% of cases (35 of 45). Their median confinement was 1.5 years, and 23% were contested. The 10 special courts-martial had a median of 30 days, and 30% were contested.
Pleas and Verdicts
The month had 34 guilty pleas and 11 contested cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 24%, compared with 20% for the year. Plea agreements are recorded for 33 of the 34 guilty pleas, and 1 has no entry. The records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.
Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 40% ended in a full acquittal. That rate was lower than the 45% for the Army in 2025. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list the finding on each charge.
Punitive Discharges
Of enlisted convictions, 85% included a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, compared with 73% for the year. There were 18 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. Of 6 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed. A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still face administrative separation.
Rank, Forum, and Installation
Junior enlisted members made up 51% of the accused, NCOs 33%, and officers 16%. For the year, the share of junior enlisted members was 50%.
A military judge alone decided 39 of 45 cases (87%). Members heard 6: 5 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Members heard 5 of the 11 contested cases (45%). Guilty pleas are almost always heard by a judge alone.
Fort Hood tried 6 cases. Fort Stewart, Fort Campbell, Fort Bliss, and Fort Bragg tried 3 each. Together these installations account for 40% of the month. Larger installations hold more trials of every type.
Compared With May 2024
May 2024 had 62 cases. May 2025 had 45. The contested share was 24% in both months. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 4 of 10, compared with 1 of 15 in May 2024. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 4 months. Enlisted punitive discharges were 85%, compared with 71%. The general court-martial share was 78%, compared with 63%. Monthly groups are small, and a few cases can change these figures.
| May 2024 | May 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 62 | 45 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 24% | 24% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 15 | 4 of 10 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 79% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 85% |
| General courts-martial | 63% | 78% |
Rule Changes and Record Limits
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges now sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. These cases may fall under the old or the new rules, and the data cannot connect any change here to the new law. Nonjudicial punishment, evidence, and plea terms are 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 May 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)
- What the Army Tried in April 2025 (previous / next)
- June 2025 at Army Courts-Martial: 44 Cases (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
- 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.