> ## 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.

# When Article 107 and Article 81 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-81-charged-together/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:55:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T08:19:42.000Z
- Description: From 2013 to 2026, 58 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged conspiracy under Article 81 together with a false official statement under Article 107. Of convicted enlisted members, 73% received a punitive discharge, compared with 60% across all Article 107 cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 107, Article 81

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 107](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-courts-martial/) › With Article 81

**Short answer:** From 2013 to 2026, 58 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged conspiracy under Article 81 together with a false official statement under Article 107\. Of convicted enlisted members, 73% received a punitive discharge, compared with 60% across all Article 107 cases. Of contested cases that reached a verdict, 22% ended in a full acquittal, compared with 15%.

Based on 58 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Mostly Junior Enlisted Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 66% of the accused in this pairing. Across Article 107 cases, the share was 49%. NCOs made up 29% and officers 5%.

Article 121 (larceny) was the most common other charge, in 18 of the 58 cases. Article 112a (drug) was charged in 15\. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) were each charged in 11\. Across all Article 107 cases, a false official statement was the only charge in 61 of 636 cases.

## More Punitive Discharges Than in Article 107 Cases

Of enlisted convictions, 73% included a punitive discharge, compared with 60% across Article 107 cases. There were 31 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. Of 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge.

A special or general court-martial can impose a bad-conduct discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## More Full Acquittals

Of 46 records listing a plea, 28 were guilty pleas and 18 were contested. The contested share was 39%, compared with 34% for Article 107 cases overall. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, so at least one charge goes to trial. The records do not explain why any accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.

Of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 22% ended in a full acquittal. That rate was higher than the 15% across Article 107 cases. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of some charges and guilty of others. With only 18 cases, a few verdicts can change the rate by a large amount.

## Sentence Lengths

Of 54 convictions, 47 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as for Article 107 cases overall. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers all charges in the case.

Terms under 6 months made up 41% of convictions, compared with 38%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 24%, compared with 22%. Terms longer than one year were given in 12 of 54 convictions (22%), compared with 18%. Only 2% were 5 years or more. Convictions with no confinement made up 13%, compared with 23%.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 7           | 13%        | 23%                                                                |
| Under 6 months                  | 22          | 41%        | 38%                                                                |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 13          | 24%        | 22%                                                                |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11          | 20%        | 12%                                                                |
| 5 years or more                 | 1           | 2%         | 5%                                                                 |

## General and Special Courts-Martial

There were 27 general and 31 special courts-martial. The general share was 47%, about the same as the 43% for Article 107 cases. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

At general courts-martial, 81% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. At special courts-martial, a higher share, 93%, included confinement, with a median of 5 months. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge.

## Years and Installations

The cases run from January 2013 to March 2026\. The highest yearly counts were in 2021 (13), 2022 (9), and 2018 (8). The 2026 count of 2 covers a partial year.

Norfolk, Virginia had the most cases, 10\. Next were Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (7), Bremerton, Washington (5), San Diego, California (4), and Fort Bragg (3). Together these installations account for 50% of the 58 cases. Larger installations try more of every kind of case, so a high count says little about any one installation.

## Rules and Record Limits

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and it brought in written plea agreements. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied or whether either change affected these figures.

The evidence, plea terms, and nonjudicial punishment are not in the records. Cases resolved by administrative separation or no action are also not included.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 107 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 107 and Article 81 (58 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](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

- [Article 107 (False Official Statements): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Article 81 (Conspiracy): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-81-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [When Article 107 and Article 121 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-121-charged-together/)
- [When Article 107 and Article 92 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-92-charged-together/)
- [Articles 107 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-128-charged-together/)
- [Army Article 107 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-107-trend-2021-2025/)
- [Fewer or More? False Official Statement Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-107-trend-2016-2025/)
- [Article 107 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/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](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.