> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Fort Polk Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-polk-before-after-2024/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:51:53.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:17:05.000Z - Description: Fort Polk tried 25 courts-martial from 2024–2026, compared with 40 in 2020–2023. Median confinement went from 1.3 years to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 96% to 64%, and the contested share went from 35% to 12%. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Fort Polk, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Fort Polk](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-polk/) › Before and after 2024 **Short answer:** Fort Polk tried 25 courts-martial from 2024–2026, compared with 40 in 2020–2023\. Median confinement went from 1.3 years to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 96% to 64%, and the contested share went from 35% to 12%. Article 90 (disobeying a superior officer) was charged in 20% of cases, compared with 6% Army-wide. Based on 25 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## What Changed After 2023? Most of the main measures at Fort Polk changed between 2020–2023 and 2024–2026\. The median confinement went from 1.3 years to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 96% to 64%, and general courts-martial from 95% of cases to 76%. There were about 10 cases a year in both periods, counting full years only. Convictions with confinement went from 93% to 100%. With 25 cases in the later period, a few cases either way can change these percentages, so they show direction, not precise rates. | | 2020–2023 | 2024–2026 | | ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- | | Cases | 40 | 25 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 35% | 12% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 9 of 14 | 0 of 3 | | Convictions with confinement | 93% | 100% | | Median confinement | 1.3 years | 6 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 96% | 64% | | General courts-martial | 95% | 76% | ## Fewer Contested Cases A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. That share went from 35% in 2020–2023 to 12% since. It is now lower than the 21% for the Army as a whole. The later cases include 22 guilty pleas and 3 not-guilty or mixed pleas. Plea agreements are recorded in 21 of the 22 guilty pleas, and 1 has no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms. In the earlier years, 9 of 14 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Since 2024, 0 of 3 contested cases did. ## Charges More Common at Fort Polk Every one of the 25 records lists charges, and each article is counted once per case. Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) was charged in 20% of cases, compared with 6% in all Army cases. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 24%, compared with 10%. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was also charged in 20% of cases, compared with 8%. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 134 (the general article) were the most common charges, each in 28% of cases, compared with 25% and 21% Army-wide. Article 128 (assault) was charged less often: 8% compared with 20%. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Army docket | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ---------------------------- | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 7 | 28% | 25% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 7 | 28% | 21% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 24% | 10% | | [Art. 90](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-90/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Willfully disobeying superior officer | 5 | 20% | 6% | | [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5 | 20% | 8% | | [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny | 3 | 12% | 7% | | Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 2 | 8% | 1% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 2 | 8% | 20% | ## Confinement in Every Conviction All 25 convictions included confinement. Across the Army, 15% of convictions included none. The median was 6 months, the same as the Army median. A quarter of those sentences were 1.2 years or longer. 32% of convictions included 6 months to 1 year, compared with 17% Army-wide. 7 of 25 convictions (28%) included more than one year, about the same as the Army's 30%. 3 convictions (12%) included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in its case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | -------------------------- | | No confinement | 0 | 0% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 10 | 40% | 39% | | 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 32% | 17% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 16% | 21% | | 5 years or more | 3 | 12% | 9% | ## Who Received a Punitive Discharge 16 of 25 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 10 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. That is 64%, lower than 73% across the Army. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation, which these records do not track. ## Judge or Panel, and Rank The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone heard 23 cases, an enlisted panel 1, and an officer panel 1\. Members heard 8% of cases, compared with 13% in all Army cases. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split follows the small number of contested cases. All of the accused were enlisted: 19 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 officers or warrant officers. Across the Army, 53% were junior enlisted. ## Court Level A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial cannot exceed one year of confinement or impose a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 76% of these cases (19 of 25), compared with 95% in 2020–2023. ## How Fort Wainwright and Fort Sill Compare Fort Wainwright (25 cases) and Fort Sill (24 cases) tried a similar number in the same years. Fort Polk had the lowest contested share of the 3: 12%, compared with 24% and 46%. It had the highest median confinement: 6 months, compared with 4 months and 5 months. Its punitive discharge share was 64%, compared with Fort Wainwright's 59% and Fort Sill's 65%. | Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | | --------------- | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | | Fort Polk | 25 | 12% | 0 of 3 | 6 months | 64% | | Fort Wainwright | 25 | 24% | 3 of 6 | 4 months | 59% | | Fort Sill | 24 | 46% | 2 of 11 | 5 months | 65% | ## Timing and Limits The cases run from February 2024 through June 2026: 15 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 5 in the partial year 2026\. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023\. The changes in these figures happened in the same period. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and cannot show whether one caused the other. These records also leave out nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, cases where no action was taken, the evidence, and plea terms. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Every court-martial tried at Fort Polk in 2020–2023 (40) and 2024–2026 (25). 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 - [Fort Polk: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-polk/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Fort Polk Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 40 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-polk-courts-martial-2020-2023/) - [Inside 25 Courts-Martial at Fort Polk, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-polk-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-humphreys-before-after-2024/) - [Fort Benning, 2021–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-before-after-2024/) - [Fort Bliss, 2020–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-before-after-2024/) - [Fort Bragg, 2020–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-before-after-2024/) - [Fort Campbell Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-campbell-before-after-2024/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Polk, 2024–2026 - [Larry A. Babin Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-larry-a-babin-jr/) - [Michael C. Friess](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-michael-c-friess/) - [Dasean A. Jones](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-dasean-a-jones/) - [Maureen A. Kohn](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-maureen-a-kohn/) - [Javier E. Rivera Rosario](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-javier-e-rivera-rosario/) - [Joseph K. Venghaus](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) 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](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.