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# Conduct Unbecoming Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 133 and 134
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-133-and-article-134-charged-together/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:55:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:15:14.000Z
- Description: Few officers charged with conduct unbecoming (Article 133) together with a general article offense (Article 134) received a full acquittal. In 34 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026, 48% of cases were contested, compared with 44% for all Article 133 cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 133, Article 134

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 133](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-133-courts-martial/) › With Article 134

**Short answer:** Few officers charged with conduct unbecoming (Article 133) together with a general article offense (Article 134) received a full acquittal. In 34 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026, 48% of cases were contested, compared with 44% for all Article 133 cases. Only 1 of 15 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (7%), compared with 8%.

Based on 34 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## All of the Accused Were Officers

Every accused with a recorded rank in this group was an officer: 32 officers, 0 junior enlisted members, and 0 NCOs. This is similar to all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 133, the conduct unbecoming article.

This affects how to read the other numbers. Officers do not receive bad-conduct or dishonorable discharges. The officer equivalent is a dismissal. This data does not report how often a dismissal was adjudged in this group. The confinement figures below describe officers only.

## Contested Slightly More Often

The plea is listed in 31 of the 34 records. Of those, 16 accused pleaded guilty and 15 contested at least one charge, with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 48%, is slightly higher than the 44% for all conduct unbecoming cases.

## Most Contested Cases Ended in a Partial Acquittal

Only 1 of the 15 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 7%, is about the same as the 8% for all Article 133 cases.

Partial acquittals were much more common. In 9 contested cases, the officer was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. A partial acquittal still ends in a sentence. Overall, 32 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge.

## Half of Convictions Included No Confinement

Confinement was part of 50% of the 32 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median for all conduct unbecoming cases. A quarter of the terms were 1 year or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case, including the general article charge. The confinement figures do not show any other parts of a sentence.

## Sentences by Length

No confinement was part of 16 convictions (50%), compared with 56% in the comparison group. Most of the other sentences were short. Terms under 6 months followed 7 convictions (22%), and terms between 6 months and 1 year followed 6 (19%).

Sentences of more than 1 year followed 3 of 32 convictions (9%), about the same as the 10% for all Article 133 cases. All 3 were 5 years or more. No conviction here had a term between 1 year and 5 years.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 133 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 16          | 50%        | 56%                                                                |
| Under 6 months                  | 7           | 22%        | 20%                                                                |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 6           | 19%        | 14%                                                                |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 0           | 0%         | 4%                                                                 |
| 5 years or more                 | 3           | 9%         | 6%                                                                 |

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 28 of the 33 cases with a court level listed (85%), compared with 75% for all conduct unbecoming cases. The court level is not listed for 1 case. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year.

Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement. So the 3 long sentences in this group came from general courts-martial.

## Other Charges, Years, and Locations

Besides the general article, the most common charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 107 (false official statement), in 8 cases each. Article 128 (assault) and Article 92 (orders violation) were charged in 7 cases each.

The 34 cases were tried from June 2013 to June 2026\. Every year had few cases. The highest counts were 7 in 2021 and 6 in 2024\. The records show no cases in 2015, 2016, or 2018\. The 2026 count covers only part of the year.

Fort Bragg had 5 of the cases. Joint Base Lewis-McChord, San Diego, California, Camp Pendleton, California, and Norfolk, Virginia had 3 each. These five installations account for 50% of the total. Large installations try more cases of every kind.

## Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It set fixed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Further changes to prosecution decisions and sentencing apply to offenses after December 27, 2023\. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case.

Conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative action, or no action is not counted. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [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 133 and Article 134 (34 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 133 (Conduct Unbecoming an Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-133-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [When Article 133 and Article 92 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-133-and-article-92-charged-together/)
- [Army Article 133 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-133-trend-2021-2025/)
- [Is Air Force Conduct Unbecoming Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 133, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-133-trend-2016-2025/)
- [AWOL Plus Disrespect: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 86 and 89](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-86-and-article-89-charged-together/)
- [Article 127 Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 127 and 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-127-and-article-134-charged-together/)
- [Articles 107 and 115 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-115-charged-together/)
- [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.