Army Acquittals in 2023: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
The Army records hold 147 contested courts-martial from 2023, and 58 of them ended in a full acquittal (39%), close to the 38% for contested Army cases in 2021–2025. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 26% of these cases, compared with 17% across the full period.
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Trends › By Year › Army 2023, contested
Short answer: The Army records hold 147 contested courts-martial from 2023, and 58 of them ended in a full acquittal (39%), close to the 38% for contested Army cases in 2021–2025. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 26% of these cases, compared with 17% across the full period.
Domestic Violence Charges in 2023
The charge lists cover 140 of the 147 cases. Each article is counted once per case, so a case that charges both assault and sexual assault appears under both articles.
Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 36 cases (26%). Across contested Army cases in 2021–2025, it appeared in 17%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was still the most common charge, in 63 cases (45%), compared with 49% for 2021–2025. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 31%, against 34%. Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) appeared in 9% of cases, compared with 5%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, contested Army cases in 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 63 | 45% | 49% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 44 | 31% | 34% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 36 | 26% | 17% |
| Art. 134 General article | 30 | 21% | 19% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 15 | 11% | 14% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 15 | 11% | 11% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 14 | 10% | 9% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 12 | 9% | 5% |
How Often Each Top Charge Led to Conviction
Among the top charges, Article 128b had the highest conviction rate on the article itself: 20 of 36 cases (56%). Article 120 had the lowest: 23 of 63 cases (37%). Article 128 ended in a conviction in 19 of 44 cases (43%), and Article 134 (the general article) in 12 of 30 (40%).
The sentences followed a different order. A conviction on Article 120 brought a median confinement of 4 years, and a conviction on Article 128 a median of 3.4 years. A conviction on Article 128b brought a median of 11 months. One case can carry a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 63 | 23 (37%) | 4 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 44 | 19 (43%) | 3.4 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 36 | 20 (56%) | 11 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 30 | 12 (40%) | 1.6 years |
Full and Partial Acquittals
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. All 147 cases here were contested and reached a verdict. 58 ended with the accused acquitted of all charges (39%). Another 58 ended in a partial acquittal (39%): not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another.
The full-acquittal rate is close to the 38% for contested Army cases in 2021–2025. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common in Army records.
Members and Judge-Alone Verdicts
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Of the 145 decided contested cases with the forum listed, members heard 87 (60%): 74 enlisted panels and 13 officer panels. A military judge alone heard 58. The members share matches the 60% for 2021–2025.
Contested cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 40% of the time (35 of 87). Contested cases decided by a judge alone ended that way 36% of the time (21 of 58).
Discharges After a Conviction
52 of 78 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (67%): 20 bad-conduct discharges and 32 dishonorable discharges. Across contested Army cases in 2021–2025, the share was 64%.
11 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in the 2023 records, and 4 were dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Length of Confinement
Of 89 convictions, 63 carried confinement. The median confinement was 1.5 years, the same as for contested Army cases in 2021–2025. A quarter of the confinement terms were 4 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.
37 of the 89 convictions brought more than one year of confinement (42%), about the same as the 44% for the full period. 26 convictions brought no confinement (29%), compared with 25%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, contested Army cases in 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 26 | 29% | 25% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 18% | 22% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 11% | 9% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 23 | 26% | 28% |
| 5 years or more | 14 | 16% | 15% |
Court Level, Rank, and Installation
130 of the 144 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (90%), compared with 85% for 2021–2025. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years; the 14 special courts-martial had a median of 7 days. The level is not listed for 3 cases.
By rank, the accused were 67 junior enlisted members, 65 NCOs, and 15 officers, a mix similar to contested Army cases in 2021–2025.
Fort Hood had the most cases (18), followed by Wheeler Army Airfield (12), Fort Bragg (11), Fort Carson (10), and Fort Stewart (9). Together they account for 41% of the 147 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What These Records Leave Out
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement. They also do not include cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in 2023, a not-guilty or mixed plea, and a result posted (147 cases), compared with all such cases in 2021–2025.
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)
- Army Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Contested Army Cases in 2024: Verdicts and Sentences
- How Did Contested Army Courts-Martial End in 2021?
- How Did Contested Army Courts-Martial End in 2025?
- Air Force Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Air Force Acquittals in 2024: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Contested Air Force Cases in 2020: Verdicts and Sentences
- 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.