Article 134 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Before and After 2024

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Based on 17 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements

12 of the 17 cases were guilty pleas and 5 were contested. The contested share was 29%, compared with 14% in Army Article 134 cases and 26% at the base in 2021–2023.

Army records say whether a guilty plea came with a plea agreement, but not what the agreement said. All 12 guilty pleas here are recorded with one (12 of 12). None of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. In 2021–2023, 1 of 10 did.

Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers

Among 14 enlisted members convicted, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (79%). 3 of those were dishonorable. The rate was lower than the 88% in Army Article 134 cases overall and the 86% at the base in 2021–2023.

3 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these cases. 1 was dismissed, which is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

Confinement

13 of the 17 sentences included confinement (76%), compared with 95% in 2021–2023. The median confinement was 1 year, the same as the Army Article 134 median and longer than the 10 months at the base in 2021–2023. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Officers Among the Accused

Officers were 18% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 53%, and NCOs 29%. Across Army Article 134 cases, junior enlisted members were 54%.

Article 133 (conduct unbecoming) appeared in 3 cases. 7 of the 17 cases charged at least one other article. Besides Article 133, Article 128 (assault), Article 92 (orders violation), and Article 93 (maltreatment) appeared in 2 each, and Article 119a (death or injury of an unborn child) in 1.

Court Level and Forum

15 cases were tried at a general court-martial and 1 at a special court-martial, with 1 not listed. Among cases with a court level listed, the general share was 94%, compared with 85% in Army Article 134 cases.

A military judge alone decided guilt in 16 cases. Members heard 1 case (6% of those with the forum listed), and that panel was enlisted.

Cases by Year and the 2023 Rules

The 17 cases were tried from January 2024 to June 2026: 7 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year. They were 23% of the 75 courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2024–2026. In 2021–2023 there were 38 cases, about 13 a year, compared with about 7 a year since.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and offenses after December 27, 2023 are sentenced by the military judge under new parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these trials mix cases under old and new rules.

Not in the Records

The records do not show the evidence, the plea agreement terms, or cases handled outside a court-martial.

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.