A Year of Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 2024
Joint Base Lewis-McChord held 32 courts-martial in 2024. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 31% of them, compared with 15% across the Army. 41% of cases were contested, compared with 27% across the Army.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Joint Base Lewis-McChord › 2024
Short answer: Joint Base Lewis-McChord held 32 courts-martial in 2024. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 31% of them, compared with 15% across the Army. 41% of cases were contested, compared with 27% across the Army.
Sexual Assault Was Charged More Often
All 32 cases list their charges. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 10 of them, 31% of all cases, compared with 15% in all Army cases in 2024. Article 128b (domestic violence) was also charged in 10 cases (31%), compared with 23% across the Army.
Several less common articles were also charged more often than across the Army. Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment) was charged in 3 cases, 9% compared with 2%. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) was charged in 9%, compared with 3%. Article 131b (obstructing justice) was charged in 9%, compared with 6%. Assault under Article 128 and the general article, Article 134, were charged in 25% and 22% of cases, about the same as the Army shares.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 31% | 15% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 31% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 25% | 23% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 22% | 21% |
| Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment | 3 | 9% | 2% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 3 | 9% | 3% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 3 | 9% | 6% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 9% | 9% |
More Contested Cases Than Across the Army
Of 32 accused, 13 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea and 19 pleaded guilty. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share here was 41%, higher than the 27% across the Army.
All 19 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records state whether one existed, not what it said. By charge, cases under Article 128b ended in a guilty plea 80% of the time (8 of 10), the highest among the top charges, while Article 120 cases did so 40% of the time (4 of 10). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
Verdicts in Contested Cases
The 13 contested cases all reached a verdict. Of these, 5 ended in a full acquittal (38%), about the same as the 37% across the Army. Another 6 (46%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning 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 in its records.
Article 128b ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 10 cases (80%), and Article 120 in 5 of 10 (50%). Assault under Article 128 ended in a conviction on that charge in 5 of 8. Because one case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 5 (50%) | 1.2 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 8 (80%) | 5 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 5 (5 of 8) | 3 years |
Sentences After Conviction
Of 27 convictions, 23 included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 6 months for the Army as a whole. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or more. Sentences here are as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each reflects every charge in the case.
The median confinement differed by charge: 1.2 years after an Article 120 conviction, 5 months for Article 128b, and 3 years for Article 128. Sentences over one year made up 9 of 27 convictions (33%), compared with 28% across the Army. Sentences under 6 months made up only 26%, compared with 43% across the Army.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 15% | 13% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 26% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 26% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 22% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 11% | 7% |
Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers
Among 25 enlisted members convicted, 21 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (84%), compared with 72% in all Army cases that year. Of those, 3 were dishonorable. These are punitive discharges. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
The 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
2023 Compared With 2024
In 2023 the installation tried 36 cases, and in 2024 it tried 32. The contested share went from 22% to 41%. Full acquittals went from 2 of 8 to 5 of 13. The median confinement went from 1 year to 9 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 74% to 84%.
General courts-martial went from 68% of the cases with a court level listed to 77%. In small groups a few cases can change a figure, so the changes show direction, not precision.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 36 | 32 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 22% | 41% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 8 | 5 of 13 |
| Convictions with confinement | 91% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 74% | 84% |
| General courts-martial | 68% | 77% |
Rank, Court Level, and Forum
The accused included 18 junior enlisted members, 12 NCOs, and 2 officers. This group was more junior than the Army overall. General courts-martial, the level able to impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 77% of the 31 cases with a court level listed (24 of 31). The court level is not listed for 1 case.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone heard 26 cases, and enlisted panels heard 3. There were no officer panels. Members heard 10% of cases, compared with 15% across the Army. Members heard 3 of 10 contested cases (30%) with a forum listed.
Similar Installations and the 2023 Reforms
Fort Bragg (34 cases) and Fort Carson (30 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Joint Base Lewis-McChord had the highest contested share of the 3: 41%, compared with 38% and 33%. It also had the longest median confinement, 9 months, and the highest punitive discharge rate, 84%.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. When every guilty finding involves an offense after December 27, 2023, a military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records lack, so 2024 trials mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Base Lewis-McChord | 32 | 41% | 5 of 13 | 9 months | 84% |
| Fort Bragg | 34 | 38% | 6 of 13 | 8 months | 70% |
| Fort Carson | 30 | 33% | 3 of 10 | 4 months | 77% |
What the Records Do Not Show
These records cover courts-martial only. They do not show the evidence, the terms of plea agreements, the dates of the offenses, or conduct 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 tried at Joint Base Lewis-McChord with a trial date in 2024 (32 cases).
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
- Joint Base Lewis-McChord: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2023: 36 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 2025 (previous / next)
- Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 75 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2024
- Larry A. Babin Jr.
- Jessica Conn
- Joseph R. Distaso
- Matthew S. Fitzgerald
- Pamela L. Jones
- 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 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.