When Article 107 and Article 133 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
18 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2014–2025 charged both Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming), and every accused was an officer. 69% of the cases were contested, compared with 34% of all cases charging Article 107 in those services.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › With Article 133
Short answer: 18 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2014–2025 charged both Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming), and every accused was an officer. 69% of the cases were contested, compared with 34% of all cases charging Article 107 in those services. Only 1 of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (9%), compared with 15%.
An All-Officer Group
Officers made up 100% of the accused in these cases. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 49% of the accused.
15 of the 18 cases were general courts-martial (83%), compared with 43% in all cases charging Article 107. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Most Accused Contested the Charges
16 of the 18 records list the plea. 11 accused contested at least one charge and 5 pleaded guilty. The contested share of 69% was higher than the 34% in all cases charging Article 107 in these services. A contested case has a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge.
Few Full Acquittals, Several Partial Ones
Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal (9%). The full-acquittal rate was lower than the 15% in all cases charging Article 107. 5 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (45%).
A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Those cases still end in a conviction and a sentence.
Confinement Was Less Common
17 cases ended in a conviction, and 7 of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6-month median in all cases charging Article 107 in these services.
These sentences are as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 107 and Article 133 charges.
Charges Beside Article 107 and Article 133
The general article, Article 134, appeared in 8 of the 18 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 6. Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 120 (sexual assault) each appeared in 3. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
Cases by Year
The cases were tried from April 2014 to May 2025. 2023 had 4 cases, and 2018, 2021, and 2025 had 3 each. 2016, 2020, 2022, and 2024 had none.
Rule Changes and What the Records Omit
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements, but cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault. Both changes depend on the offense date, and the records give only the trial date.
The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 107 and Article 133 (18 cases). Air Force cases are left out because Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals.
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
- Article 107 (False Official Statements): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 133 (Conduct Unbecoming an Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- When Article 107 and Article 121 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- When Article 107 and Article 92 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Articles 107 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Army Article 107 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? False Official Statement Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Article 107 explained on the law firm's website
- 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.