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# Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2023: 36 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2023/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:54:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:12:53.000Z
- Description: Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 36 courts-martial in 2023. The median confinement after conviction was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Army. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 14% of cases, compared with 5% across the Army.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Joint Base Lewis-McChord](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-joint-base-lewis-mcchord/) › 2023

**Short answer:** Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 36 courts-martial in 2023\. The median confinement after conviction was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Army. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 14% of cases, compared with 5% across the Army.

Based on 36 cases · 2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Longer Sentences Than Across the Army

Of 34 convictions, 31 included confinement. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Army. A quarter of the sentences were 1.8 years or longer.

14 of 34 convictions (41%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 28% across the Army. Sentences from more than 1 year to under 5 years made up 32% of convictions here, compared with 21%. 9% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 16% across the Army.

All of these are adjudged sentences: what was imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 3           | 9%         | 16%                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 14          | 41%        | 39%                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 3           | 9%         | 16%                                  |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11          | 32%        | 21%                                  |
| 5 years or more                 | 3           | 9%         | 8%                                   |

## Larceny and Child Sexual Abuse Were Charged More Often

Charge lists exist for all 36 cases. Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 5 cases, or 14%, compared with 5% in all Army cases that year. Article 121a, which covers fraudulent use of credit and debit cards, was charged in 3 cases (8%), compared with 1%. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was also more common: 14% compared with 8%.

The general article, Article 134, was the most common charge, in 28% of cases. Article 128b (domestic violence) was next at 22%. Assault under Article 128 was charged in only 3 cases, 8% of all cases, compared with 26% across the Army. Each article counts once per case, so one case can appear in several rows.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                  | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Army docket |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ---------------------------- |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                      | 10    | 28%        | 24%                          |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                        | 8     | 22%        | 21%                          |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                       | 7     | 19%        | 21%                          |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                              | 5     | 14%        | 5%                           |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5     | 14%        | 8%                           |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                               | 3     | 8%         | 8%                           |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                              | 3     | 8%         | 26%                          |
| Art. 121a Fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards                                                                                         | 3     | 8%         | 1%                           |

## Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Only 8 accused contested at least one charge, while 28 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 22%, lower than the 31% across the Army. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, whether to all of them or only some.

Of the 28 guilty pleas, 27 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records state whether an agreement existed but not its terms. Of the 8 decided contested cases, 2 ended in a full acquittal.

## Conviction on the Charged Article

Most cases charging the 2 most common articles ended in a conviction on that article. Article 134 ended in a conviction in 9 of 10 cases (90%), and the median confinement after that conviction was 1.6 years. Article 128b ended in a conviction in 7 of 8, and the median was 5 months.

These rows can overlap. A single case may end with a conviction under one article and an acquittal under another.

| Article                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| --------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 134 General article    | 10                | 9 (90%)                 | 1.6 years                               |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 8                 | 7 (7 of 8)              | 5 months                                |

## How 2023 Compared With 2022

There were 47 cases in 2022 and 36 in 2023\. The contested share went from 30% to 22%. Full acquittals went from 7 of 14 decided contested cases to 2 of 8\. The median confinement went from 6 months to 1 year.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 80% to 74%. General courts-martial went from 74% to 68% of cases. In small groups a few cases can change these figures, so the changes show direction, not precise amounts.

|                                     | 2022     | 2023   |
| ----------------------------------- | -------- | ------ |
| Cases                               | 47       | 36     |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 30%      | 22%    |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 14  | 2 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement        | 88%      | 91%    |
| Median confinement                  | 6 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 80%      | 74%    |
| General courts-martial              | 74%      | 68%    |

## Discharges After Conviction

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Of 34 enlisted members convicted, 25 received one (74%), the same as the 74% in the rest of the Army. Of those 25, 7 were dishonorable. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Court Level and the Accused

General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, accounted for 23 cases. Special courts-martial, capped at one year of confinement, accounted for 11, and 2 cases do not list a level. General courts-martial were 68% of cases with a court level listed, compared with 76% in the rest of the Army.

Sentences differed by court level. General courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.6 years, and 26% were contested. Special courts-martial had a median confinement of 30 days, and 18% were contested.

All 36 accused were enlisted: 28 junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 8 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with no officers or warrant officers. Across the Army, 56% were junior enlisted, so this group was more junior.

## Forum and Similar Installations

The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone heard 31 cases. Enlisted panels heard 4, and an officer panel heard 1\. Members heard 14% of cases, compared with 19% across the Army. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, and few cases here were contested.

Fort Bragg (33 cases) and Fort Bliss (29 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Both had higher contested shares: 33% and 28%. Both had shorter median confinement: 7 months and 4 months. Their punitive discharge rates, 86% and 79%, were higher than the 74% here.

| Installation             | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
| ------------------------ | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Joint Base Lewis-McChord | 36    | 22%       | 2 of 8                              | 1 year             | 74%                           |
| Fort Bragg               | 33    | 33%       | 2 of 11                             | 7 months           | 86%                           |
| Fort Bliss               | 29    | 28%       | 4 of 8                              | 4 months           | 79%                           |

## Limits of the Data

The records show what reached a courtroom. Cases closed through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action do not appear. Trial records also omit offense dates, the evidence, and the terms of plea agreements.

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 Joint Base Lewis-McChord with a trial date in 2023 (36 cases).

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

- [Joint Base Lewis-McChord: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-joint-base-lewis-mcchord/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2022: 47 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2022/) (previous / next)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2024/) (previous / next)
- [Inside 139 Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2020–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2020-2023/) (the whole period)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-humphreys-courts-martial-2024/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-humphreys-courts-martial-2025/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-courts-martial-2022/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-courts-martial-2023/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2022: 47 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2022/)Next: [A Year of Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-courts-martial-2024/) →

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2023

- [Larry A. Babin Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-larry-a-babin-jr/)
- [Jessica Conn](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-jessica-conn/)
- [Joseph R. Distaso](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-joseph-r-distaso/)
- [Rebecca L. Farrell](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-rebecca-l-farrell/)
- [Matthew S. Fitzgerald](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-matthew-s-fitzgerald/)
- [Robert E. Murdough](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-robert-e-murdough/)

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.