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# Air Force Acquittals in 2024: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2024-verdicts/
- Published: 2026-10-30T05:30:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:30:39.000Z
- Description: The Air Force records hold 88 contested courts-martial tried in 2024, the first year after new rules for prosecuting covered offenses took effect. 42 of the 88 ended in a full acquittal (48%), close to the 50% across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › Air Force 2024, contested

**Short answer:** The Air Force records hold 88 contested courts-martial tried in 2024, the first year after new rules for prosecuting covered offenses took effect. 42 of the 88 ended in a full acquittal (48%), close to the 50% across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025\. Among cases with charges listed, Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 17%, compared with 11%.

Based on 88 cases · 2024 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Trials Under Old and New Rules

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both rules depend on the date of the offense, and these records give only the trial date. The 2024 trials therefore include cases under the old rules and cases under the new ones. The records cannot show whether either change affected any result in this year.

## Verdicts in 2024

All 88 cases were contested: 88 not-guilty or mixed pleas and no guilty pleas. 42 of the 88 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (48%), close to the 50% across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025.

6 cases split the charges, with the accused found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal shows up only when an appeals opinion reports it.

## Members and Military Judges

Members decided 68 of the cases (77%), with 60 enlisted panels and 8 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 20.

In contested cases, members acquitted in full 49% of the time and military judges 45%. The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so cases tried each way are not alike, and the gap does not show an effect of the forum.

## What Was Charged

The charge lists cover 72 of the 88 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was the most common, in 35% of the listed cases, compared with 31% across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025\. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 17%, compared with 11%.

Article 134 (general article) appeared less often, in 12% compared with 17%. Article 128 (assault) was in 18%, compared with 21%. A case with several articles counts once under each.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 25    | 35%        | 31%                                           |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 13    | 18%        | 21%                                           |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12    | 17%        | 18%                                           |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                             | 12    | 17%        | 11%                                           |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 9     | 12%        | 17%                                           |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 8     | 11%        | 14%                                           |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 7     | 10%        | 9%                                            |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice                                                                                                                      | 4     | 6%         | 3%                                            |

## Convictions and Sentences by Charge

Of 25 listed cases charging Article 120, 9 ended in a conviction on it, with a median confinement of 2.5 years. Article 128b had 6 convictions in 12 listed cases and a median of 1.6 years. Article 128 had 5 convictions in 13, and Article 112a (drug) had 6 in 12, each with a median of 2 months.

Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions, so these counts are not conviction rates for any charge.

| Article                                                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | --------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault                            | 25                | 9               | 2.5 years                               |
| Art. 128 Assault                                            | 13                | 5               | 2 months                                |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12                | 6               | 2 months                                |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence                                 | 12                | 6               | 1.6 years                               |

## Confinement and Sentence Bands

46 cases ended in a conviction, and confinement was part of 76% of those sentences. The median confinement was 1 year, the same as across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025\. A quarter of those sentences were 2.5 years or longer.

15 of 46 convictions (33%) included more than one year of confinement, about the same as the 35% for 2020–2025\. Sentences under 6 months made up 33%, compared with 29%, and 11 convictions carried no confinement (24%), compared with 22%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 11          | 24%        | 22%                                           |
| Under 6 months                  | 15          | 33%        | 29%                                           |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 5           | 11%        | 14%                                           |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12          | 26%        | 26%                                           |
| 5 years or more                 | 3           | 7%         | 9%                                            |

## Court Level and Discharges

57 of the 88 cases were general courts-martial (65%), compared with 69% across contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025\. The median confinement was 1.3 years at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial.

24 of 43 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 16 dishonorable discharges and 8 bad-conduct discharges. Across 2020–2025, the share was 55%. 3 convicted officers or warrant officers appear here, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Rank and Installations

The accused were 42 junior enlisted members, 40 NCOs, and 6 officers. The group is more senior than contested Air Force cases in 2020–2025.

Eglin AFB, Florida had 6 cases and Minot AFB, North Dakota had 5\. Tyndall AFB, Florida, Incirlik AB, Turkey, and Cannon AFB, New Mexico had 3 each. Those five account for 23% of the 88\. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Outside the Records

Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements, and they do not describe the evidence.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in 2024, a not-guilty or mixed plea, and a result posted (88 cases), compared with all such cases in 2020–2025.

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

- [Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Air Force Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2022-verdicts/)
- [Contested Air Force Cases in 2020: Verdicts and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2020-verdicts/)
- [Contested Air Force Cases in 2021: Verdicts and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2021-verdicts/)
- [Contested Air Force Cases in 2025: Verdicts and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2025-verdicts/)
- [How Did Contested Air Force Courts-Martial End in 2023?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-air-force-courts-martial-2023-verdicts/)
- [Army Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-army-courts-martial-2022-verdicts/)
- [Army Acquittals in 2023: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/contested-army-courts-martial-2023-verdicts/)
- [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.