What the Army Tried in September 2024
The Army tried 29 courts-martial in September 2024, and only 3 were contested (10%). For the Army across 2024, the contested share was 27%. Of enlisted convictions, 59% included a punitive discharge, lower than the 72% for the year. The median confinement for convictions was 7 months.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2024
Short answer: The Army tried 29 courts-martial in September 2024, and only 3 were contested (10%). For the Army across 2024, the contested share was 27%. Of enlisted convictions, 59% included a punitive discharge, lower than the 72% for the year. The median confinement for convictions was 7 months.
Almost All Cases Ended in Guilty Pleas
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In September 2024, 26 accused pleaded guilty and only 3 contested the charges. The contested share was 10%, much lower than the 27% for the Army that year. Very few cases went to trial on the merits.
Plea agreements are recorded for 25 of the 26 guilty pleas, and 1 has no entry. Army records show whether there was an agreement but not what it said.
Of the 3 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal. With so few cases, this figure says little about contested cases in general.
Judges Decided Almost All Cases
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 26 of 28 cases with a forum listed (93%). Members heard 2, both with enlisted panels. Guilty pleas are almost always heard by a judge alone, so this split mostly follows the small number of contested cases.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Of 27 convicted enlisted members, 16 received one (59%), compared with 72% for the Army in 2024. Of those 16, 4 were dishonorable discharges.
No officers were among the accused. An enlisted member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still face administrative separation. These records do not show administrative separation.
Most Sentences Were Under a Year
Of 27 convictions, 23 included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, about the same as the 6 months for the year. A quarter of terms were 1 year or more.
Terms from 6 months to 1 year made up 26% of convictions, compared with 15% for 2024. Only 5 of 27 (19%) were longer than one year, compared with 28%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 4%, compared with 7%. Convictions with no confinement made up 15%, compared with 13%.
These figures are adjudged sentences, covering every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 15% | 13% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 41% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 26% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 15% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 4% | 7% |
More Special Courts-Martial Than for the Year
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. This month had 17 general and 11 special courts-martial, and 1 is not listed. The general share was 61%, lower than the 75% for the year.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 11 months, and 18% were contested. The special courts-martial had a median of 50 days, and none was contested.
Which Articles Were Charged
All 29 records list charges. Each article is counted once per case. Article 128b (domestic violence) was the most common charge, in 6 cases (21%, compared with 23%). Article 128 (assault) was charged in 5 cases (17%, compared with 23%). Article 134 (general article) was also charged in 5 cases (17%, compared with 21%).
Article 108 (loss, damage, or destruction of military property) was charged in 2 cases (7%), compared with 1% for the year. Article 86 (AWOL) was also charged in 7%, compared with 4%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 6 | 21% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 17% | 23% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 17% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 10% | 12% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 108 Military property; loss, damage, destruction | 2 | 7% | 1% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 7% | 9% |
Rank and Installation
The accused were 20 junior enlisted members and 9 NCOs. This mix was more junior than the Army for the year.
Fort Bliss tried 5 cases, Fort Knox and Fort Hood 4 each, and Fort Drum and Fort Carson 2 each. Together these installations account for 59% of the 29 cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds.
Compared With September 2023
September 2023 had 38 cases. September 2024 had 29. The contested share was 10%, compared with 37% in September 2023. Convictions that included confinement were 85%, compared with 71%. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 8 months. Enlisted punitive discharges were 59%, compared with 65%. The general court-martial share was 61%, compared with 74%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 2 of 3, compared with 3 of 14. A few cases can change these figures.
| September 2023 | September 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 38 | 29 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 37% | 10% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 14 | 2 of 3 |
| Convictions with confinement | 71% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 65% | 59% |
| General courts-martial | 74% | 61% |
Prosecution Rules and Missing Information
On December 28, 2023, special trial counsel replaced commanders as the officials who decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records do not give offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied to a case, or whether the changes affected any figure. Evidence, plea terms, and nonjudicial punishment 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 September 2024 (29 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)
- August 2024 at Army Courts-Martial: 31 Cases (previous / next)
- Army Courts-Martial, October 2024: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Army Court-Martial Year, 2024 (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.