What Fort Hood Tried in 2024
Fort Hood held 56 courts-martial in 2024. 6 of 12 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (50%), compared with 37% in the rest of the Army. Domestic violence (Article 128b) was charged in 34% of cases with charges listed.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fort Hood › 2024
Short answer: Fort Hood held 56 courts-martial in 2024. 6 of 12 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (50%), compared with 37% in the rest of the Army. Domestic violence (Article 128b) was charged in 34% of cases with charges listed. The median adjudged confinement was 4 months, compared with 9 months in 2023.
Full Acquittals in 6 of 12 Contested Cases
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict at Fort Hood in 2024, 6 ended in a full acquittal (50%), compared with 37% Army-wide. Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal (33%): the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear often. In 2023, 6 of 18 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Fewer Contested Cases Than in 2023
Cases went from 44 in 2023 to 56 in 2024. The contested share went from 41% to 27%, the same as the Army rate. All 41 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show that an agreement existed, not its terms.
The median confinement went from 9 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 66% to 77%. Punitive discharges went from 74% to 72%. General courts-martial went from 66% of cases to 80%. In groups this size, a few cases can change any figure, so these changes show direction only.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 44 | 56 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 41% | 27% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 18 | 6 of 12 |
| Convictions with confinement | 66% | 77% |
| Median confinement | 9 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 74% | 72% |
| General courts-martial | 66% | 80% |
Domestic Violence and the General Article
Charges are listed for 53 of the 56 cases, and one case can appear under several articles. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 18 cases (34%), compared with 23% Army-wide. The general article, Article 134, was charged in 28%, compared with 21%.
Assault (Article 128) was charged less often: 15% compared with 23%. Sexual assault (Article 120) was also charged less often: 9% compared with 15%. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) was charged in 6% of cases, compared with 3%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 18 | 34% | 23% |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 28% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 15% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 7 | 13% | 12% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 9% | 15% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 9% | 7% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 3 | 6% | 3% |
How the Leading Charges Were Resolved
Most cases charging the top articles ended in a guilty plea: 80% of Article 134 cases (12 of 15) and 78% of Article 128b cases (14 of 18). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the case.
15 of 18 domestic violence cases ended in a conviction on that article (83%), with a median confinement of 2 months. 13 of 15 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction (87%), with a median of 1 year. 7 of 8 assault cases ended in a conviction, with a median of 4 months. A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can occur in the same case, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 18 | 15 (83%) | 2 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 13 (87%) | 1 year |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 4 months |
Shorter Sentences
Of 47 convictions, 36 included confinement. The median was 4 months, lower than the Army's 6 months. A quarter of sentences were 1 year or longer. 23% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 13% Army-wide.
Only 7 of 47 convictions (15%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 28% Army-wide. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and covering every charge in a case.
The 44 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 5 months, and 27% were contested. The 11 special courts-martial had a median of 53 days, and 18% were contested. The level is not listed for 1 case. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 11 | 23% | 13% |
| Under 6 months | 21 | 45% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 17% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 9% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 6% | 7% |
Officers Among the Accused
The accused were 28 junior enlisted soldiers, 19 NCOs, and 9 officers. Of 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were dismissed.
Among 40 convicted enlisted members, 29 received a punitive discharge (20 bad-conduct and 9 dishonorable). That rate, 72%, is the same as in all Army cases. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Who Decided Guilt
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 11% of cases with the forum listed: 5 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. A judge alone heard the other 50. Members heard 6 of the 15 contested cases (40%).
Fort Bliss and Fort Bragg
Fort Bliss had 40 cases. 12% were contested, 2 of 5 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, the median confinement was 5 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 68%. Fort Bragg had 34 cases. 38% were contested, 6 of 13 ended in a full acquittal, the median was 8 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 70%. Fort Hood had the most cases of the group and the lowest median confinement.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hood | 56 | 27% | 6 of 12 | 4 months | 72% |
| Fort Bliss | 40 | 12% | 2 of 5 | 5 months | 68% |
| Fort Bragg | 34 | 38% | 6 of 13 | 8 months | 70% |
Rules Tied to Offense Dates
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, including domestic violence and sexual assault. When every guilty finding covers an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. These records give trial dates only, so 2024 trials include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these figures. Evidence, plea terms, and cases handled outside a court-martial are not recorded.
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 2024 (56 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)
- Fort Hood in 2023: 44 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- What Fort Hood Tried in 2025 (previous / next)
- Inside 138 Courts-Martial at Fort Hood, 2024–2026 (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, 2024
- Joseph R. Distaso
- Michael C. Friess
- Scott Z. Hughes
- Dasean A. Jones
- Maureen A. Kohn
- Joseph T. Marcee
- 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.