What Was Tried at Fort Stewart, 2020–2023? 69 Courts-Martial
Fort Stewart held 69 courts-martial from 2020–2023. The median adjudged confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Army. Sexual assault (Article 120) was charged in 35% of cases with charges listed, compared with 25% Army-wide. 48% of cases were contested.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Stewart › 2020–2023
Short answer: Fort Stewart held 69 courts-martial from 2020–2023. The median adjudged confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Army. Sexual assault (Article 120) was charged in 35% of cases with charges listed, compared with 25% Army-wide. 48% of cases were contested.
A Median Sentence of 1 Year
Of 51 convictions, 41 included confinement. The median was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the Army as a whole. A quarter of those sentences were 2.5 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.
16% of convictions here included 5 years or more, compared with 8% Army-wide. 19 of 51 convictions (37%) included more than one year, compared with 27%. Sentences under 6 months were less common: 27% compared with 39%.
These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Army docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 10 | 20% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 27% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 16% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11 | 22% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 8 | 16% | 8% |
Sexual Offenses Charged More Often
Charges are listed in 62 of the 69 records, and each article counts once per case. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 35% of cases, compared with 25% across the Army. Article 120b (offenses against a child) was charged in 15%, compared with 8%. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 13%, compared with 8%.
Orders violations (Article 92) were charged less often: 8% compared with 15%. Assault (Article 128) was charged in 31%, the same as the Army share.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Army cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 22 | 35% | 25% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 19 | 31% | 31% |
| Art. 134 General article | 13 | 21% | 22% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 15% | 13% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 9 | 15% | 8% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 8 | 13% | 8% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 6 | 10% | 11% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 5 | 8% | 5% |
Contested More Often Than Army-Wide
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here 33 cases were contested and 36 ended in a guilty plea. The contested share was 48%, compared with 35% Army-wide. Of the guilty pleas, 26 are recorded with a plea agreement and 10 have no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms.
Guilty pleas differed by charge. 62% of cases charging Article 134 (the general article) ended in a guilty plea (8 of 13), the highest among the top charges. 36% of cases charging Article 120 did (8 of 22). The records do not say why.
Acquittals, and Who Decided
Of 30 contested cases that reached a verdict, 13 ended in a full acquittal (43%), higher than 37% across the Army. Another 14 (47%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common.
The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. A judge alone heard 50 cases, enlisted panels 18, and an officer panel 1. Members heard 28% of cases, compared with 21% Army-wide.
6 of 17 contested cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal (35%). 7 of 13 decided by a judge alone did (54%). With counts this small, a single case changes those rates.
Results by Charge
Domestic violence (Article 128b) cases had the highest conviction rate on that article: 8 of 9, with a median confinement of 9 months. 14 of 19 assault (Article 128) cases ended in a conviction (74%), with a median of 4 months. 15 of 22 Article 120 cases did (68%), with a median of 2 years. Article 134 had the lowest rate among the top charges, 8 of 13 (62%), with a median of 1.3 years. One case can appear in several rows.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 22 | 15 (68%) | 2 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 19 | 14 (74%) | 4 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 13 | 8 (62%) | 1.3 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 9 months |
More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges
78% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge, compared with 73% in the rest of the Army. There were more dishonorable discharges (20) than bad-conduct discharges (18). Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge, and general courts-martial made up 87% of these cases (60 of 69).
Neither of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Who Was on Trial, and When
The accused included 43 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 23 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. In the Army overall, 57% were junior enlisted.
The trials are from August 2020 through December 2023: 5 in 2020, 18 in 2021, 22 in 2022, and 24 in 2023. That is 4% of the 1,581 Army courts-martial in those years. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020. This data has few Army records before 2021.
Camp Humphreys and Fort Drum
Camp Humphreys (69 cases) and Fort Drum (72 cases) tried a similar number of cases. All 3 had contested shares higher than the Army's: 48% at Fort Stewart, 46% at Camp Humphreys, and 43% at Fort Drum. Sentences were different. Fort Stewart's median confinement was 1 year, compared with 3 months at Camp Humphreys and 6 months at Fort Drum. Its punitive discharge share was 78%, compared with 52% and 63%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Stewart | 69 | 48% | 13 of 30 | 1 year | 78% |
| Camp Humphreys | 69 | 46% | 14 of 30 | 3 months | 52% |
| Fort Drum | 72 | 43% | 12 of 28 | 6 months | 63% |
What the Records Leave Out
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences, with trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Fort Stewart with a trial date in 2020–2023 (69 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 Stewart: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Fort Stewart Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 46 Cases Show (another period)
- Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 69 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Fort Drum, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 72 Cases (same years, similar size)
- 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 Stewart, 2020–2023
- Alyssa S. Adams
- James Barkei
- Trevor I. Barna
- Gregory B. Batdorff
- John H. Cook
- Albert G. Courie III
- Amy S. Fitzgibbons
- Jerrod B. Fussnecker
- Tyler J. Heimann
- Benjamin W. Hillner
- Scott Z. Hughes
- Adam S. Kazin
- Joseph T. Marcee
- Stephan E. Nolten
- Charles L. Pritchard Jr.
- William C. Ramsey
- Robert W. Rideout Jr.
- Troy A. Smith
- Clay M. West
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.