38 General Article Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2021–2023: What the Records Show

Trends › By Installation › Joint Base Lewis-McChord › Article 134, 2021–2023

Based on 38 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Few Full Acquittals and Many Partial Acquittals

In all, 10 contested cases reached a verdict. Only 1 ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 10%. Across the rest of the Army, 25% of contested Article 134 cases ended in a full acquittal.

Partial acquittals were more common: 7 of the 10 ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army records list findings charge by charge, which is one reason partial acquittals are common in Army data. With only 10 decided contested cases, a single different verdict would change the full-acquittal rate by 10 points. The figure describes these cases, not a stable rate.

Most Convictions Included a Punitive Discharge

All 37 people convicted were enlisted, and 32 of them received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (86%). The Army-wide share for Article 134 cases was 74%. Of the 32 punitive discharges, 10 were dishonorable.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those actions are not part of these court records.

Shorter Median Confinement, Same Share of Long Sentences

Of 38 cases, 37 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 35 of those sentences included confinement (95%). The median confinement was 10 months, compared with 1 year for all Army Article 134 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1.9 years or longer.

15 of 37 convictions (41%) included more than one year of confinement, the same as the 41% across the Army. Shorter sentences were different. 10 sentences (27%) were between 6 months and 1 year, compared with 18% across the Army. Only 2 convictions (5%) included no confinement, compared with 13%. All of these are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each reflects every charge in the case.

Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas

28 cases were guilty pleas, and 10 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 26%, lower than the 31% across the Army.

Of the 28 guilty pleas, 27 are recorded with a plea agreement, and 1 has no entry. Army records state only whether an agreement existed, not its terms.

Members Heard Only 9 Cases

Among 37 cases with the forum listed, a military judge alone decided guilt in 28 (76%). Enlisted panels heard the other 9, and there were 0 officer panels.

The accused usually chooses between a judge and a panel. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum split here mostly follows how few cases were contested.

General Courts-Martial and a Junior Group

General courts-martial handled 32 of the 37 cases with a court level listed (86%), and special courts-martial handled the rest. The court level is not listed for 1 case. The court level sets the maximum sentence. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge.

The accused were 28 junior enlisted members, 10 NCOs, and 0 officers. That mix was more junior than the rest of the Army. The high general court-martial share and the high discharge rate appear in the same cases, but the records cannot show whether one affected the other.

Article 134 Was Usually Charged With Other Articles

In 28 of the 38 cases, at least one other article was charged too. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 10, Article 92 (orders violation) in 9, Article 80 (attempt) in 8, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6, and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 5.

Because a sentence covers every charge in a case, the confinement and discharge figures above describe whole cases, many of which involved more than the general article.

Timing and Record-Keeping

The 38 trials took place from January 2021 to December 2023, with 12 in 2021, 16 in 2022, and 10 in 2023. They made up 28% of the 135 courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord over those years.

This period begins in 2021 because the services had to start publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

What the Records Do Not Show

Only cases that reached a courtroom are counted. Misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action at all does not appear, and the records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They also give trial dates rather than offense dates.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.