Inside 17 Courts-Martial at Fort Lee, 2020–2023
The records hold 17 courts-martial at Fort Lee from 2020 to 2023. 14 of the accused were NCOs, and 4 of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. 60% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% across the Army.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Lee › 2020–2023
Short answer: The records hold 17 courts-martial at Fort Lee from 2020 to 2023. 14 of the accused were NCOs, and 4 of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. 60% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% across the Army.
Mostly NCOs
14 accused were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), 3 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), and none were officers. Across the Army, 57% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is more senior.
12 of the 17 cases were general courts-martial (71%), compared with 75% in the rest of the Army. 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.
Contested Cases and Full Acquittals
7 accused contested at least one charge and 10 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 41%, higher than the 35% Army-wide. Of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal.
7 of the 10 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 3 have no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it contained.
Shorter Confinement
Of 10 convictions, 9 included confinement. The median was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months across the Army, and a quarter of the terms were 11 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all the charges in the case.
A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The Army rate was 73%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Property, Larceny, and Domestic Violence Charges
14 of the 17 records list charges. Article 128 (assault) appears in 5 cases (36%), compared with 31% across the Army. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), Article 109 (waste, spoilage, or destruction of property other than military property), and Article 128b (domestic violence) each appear in 4 (29%).
The Army shares for those articles were 15%, 2%, and 13%. Article 121 (larceny) and Article 131b (obstructing justice) each appear in 3 cases (21%), compared with 7% and 4%. Article 134 appears in 3 and Article 80 (attempts) in 2. A case counts under every article it charges.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Army cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 36% | 31% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 29% | 15% |
| Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 4 | 29% | 2% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 4 | 29% | 13% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 21% | 22% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 3 | 21% | 4% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 21% | 7% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 14% | 8% |
Who Decided Guilt?
A military judge alone decided 13 cases. Enlisted panels decided 4, and no officer panel sat. Members heard 24% of the cases with a forum listed.
Fort Lee, Fort McNair, and Fort Sam Houston
Fort McNair tried 21 cases and Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston tried 22 in these years. Fort Sam Houston had the same 3-month median confinement and the same 41% contested share as Fort Lee. Fort McNair had a median of 1 year. Their punitive discharge rates were 80% and 92%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lee | 17 | 41% | 4 of 6 | 3 months | 60% |
| Fort McNair | 21 | 29% | 1 of 4 | 1 year | 80% |
| Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston | 22 | 41% | 6 of 9 | 3 months | 92% |
Dates and Gaps in the Records
The trials ran from November 2020 to February 2023: 3 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 7 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. They are 1% of the 1,581 Army courts-martial in those years. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the 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 in the data tried at Fort Lee with a trial date in 2020–2023 (17 cases), compared with all 1,581 Army trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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 Lee: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Fort Lee, 2024–2026? 27 Courts-Martial (another period)
- Inside 19 Courts-Martial at Fort Irwin, 2020–2023 (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Fort Leavenworth, 2020–2023? 14 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 69 Cases
- Fort Bliss, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 102 Cases
- Fort Bragg Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 143 Cases Show
- Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Lee, 2020–2023
- Lanny Acosta Jr.
- James Barkei
- Gregory R. Bockin
- Amy S. Fitzgibbons
- Adam S. Kazin
- Grady J. Leupold
- Travis Rogers
- Tyesha L. Smith
- Mary C. Vergona
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.