Fort Hood in 2023: 44 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Domestic violence (Article 128b) was the most common charge in Fort Hood's 44 courts-martial in 2023. It was charged in 37% of cases with charges recorded, compared with 21% Army-wide. The median adjudged confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across the Army.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fort Hood › 2023
Short answer: Domestic violence (Article 128b) was the most common charge in Fort Hood's 44 courts-martial in 2023. It was charged in 37% of cases with charges recorded, compared with 21% Army-wide. The median adjudged confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. 34% of convictions included no confinement.
Domestic Violence Was the Most Common Charge
Charge lists cover 41 of the 44 cases. A case with several articles appears in several rows. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 15 cases (37%), compared with 21% in the rest of the Army.
80% of those cases ended in a guilty plea (12 of 15). 14 of 15 ended in a conviction on that article (93%), the highest rate among the top charges. The median confinement for those convictions was 5 months.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 15 | 14 (93%) | 5 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 12 | 6 (50%) | 9 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 9 (90%) | 1.3 years |
Sexual Assault Cases Were Contested More Often
Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 29% of cases, compared with 21% in the rest of the Army. Only 33% of those cases ended in a guilty plea (4 of 12). 6 of 12 ended in a conviction on that article, the lowest rate among the top charges. The median confinement for those convictions was 9 months.
Assault (Article 128) was charged in 24% of cases, about the same as 26% Army-wide. 9 of 10 assault cases ended in a conviction, with a median confinement of 1.3 years. The general article, Article 134, was charged less often: 12% compared with 24%. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap. The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Army |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 15 | 37% | 21% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 12 | 29% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 24% | 26% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 12% | 24% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 10% | 11% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 3 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 2 | 5% | 3% |
How Much Confinement?
Of 38 convictions, 25 included confinement (66%). The other 13 convictions (34%) included no confinement, compared with 16% across the Army. Among sentences with confinement, the median was 9 months. A quarter were 1.3 years or longer.
9 of 38 convictions (24%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 28% in all Army cases. These are adjudged sentences. They were set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in a case. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 13 | 34% | 16% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 24% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 18% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 16% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 8% | 8% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence including a dishonorable discharge, made up 66% of cases (29 of 44). Their median confinement was 1.1 years, and 55% were contested. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. The 15 special courts-martial had a median of 2 months, and 13% were contested.
Pleas and Verdicts
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 18 cases were contested and 26 ended in a guilty plea. The contested share was 41%, compared with 31% across the Army. All 26 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show only that an agreement existed, not its terms.
33% of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, lower than 39% in all Army cases. Another 6 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of something and guilty of something else.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 25% of cases with the forum listed: 10 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Members also heard 11 of the 18 contested cases (61%).
From 2022 to 2023
Cases went from 53 to 44. The median confinement went from 3 months to 9 months. Convictions with confinement went from 82% to 66%. Punitive discharges went from 85% to 74%, and general courts-martial from 75% of cases to 66%.
The contested share was about the same: 40% and 41%. Full acquittals went from 9 of 21 to 6 of 18. Small groups change with a few cases, so these figures show direction, not precise change.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 53 | 44 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 40% | 41% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 9 of 21 | 6 of 18 |
| Convictions with confinement | 82% | 66% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 85% | 74% |
| General courts-martial | 75% | 66% |
Discharges and Rank
74% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge (18 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable). The rate in the rest of the Army was the same, 74%. Of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.
Junior enlisted soldiers made up 68% of the accused, NCOs 23%, and officers 9%. Across all Army cases, junior enlisted were 56%.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Fort Bragg
Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 36 cases. 22% were contested, 2 of 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, the median confinement was 1 year, and 74% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge. Fort Bragg had 33 cases. 33% were contested, 2 of 11 ended in a full acquittal, the median was 7 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 86%. Fort Hood had the most cases and the highest contested share of the 3.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hood | 44 | 41% | 6 of 18 | 9 months | 74% |
| Joint Base Lewis-McChord | 36 | 22% | 2 of 8 | 1 year | 74% |
| Fort Bragg | 33 | 33% | 2 of 11 | 7 months | 86% |
What These Records Omit
Trial dates appear, but offense dates do not. The records do not describe evidence or plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Fort Hood with a trial date in 2023 (44 cases).
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
- Fort Hood: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Fort Hood Tried in 2022 (previous / next)
- What Fort Hood Tried in 2024 (previous / next)
- Fort Hood Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 147 Cases Show (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- S1 E50: November 5, 2009: Mass Shooting at Fort Hood (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Hood, 2023
- Thomas Calhoun-Lopez
- Michael C. Friess
- Tyler J. Heimann
- Scott Z. Hughes
- Adam S. Kazin
- Maureen A. Kohn
- Joseph T. Marcee
- Tiffany D. Pond
- Javier E. Rivera Rosario
- Joseph K. Venghaus
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.