A Year of Courts-Martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 2025

Trends › By Installation › Joint Base Lewis-McChord › 2025

Based on 28 cases · 2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Long Sentences Than Across the Army

Of 25 cases ending in a conviction on at least one charge, 24 included confinement (96%). The median confinement was 1 year, longer than the 8 months across the Army in 2025. A quarter of the sentences were 5 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.

Sentences of 5 years or more made up 6 convictions, or 24%, compared with 11% in the rest of the Army. Only 1 conviction (4%) included no confinement, compared with 19% elsewhere. 8 of 25 convictions (32%) included more than one year of confinement, about the same as the 30% across the Army.

These figures are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.

Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas

There were 25 guilty pleas and 3 contested cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 11%, compared with 20% across the Army.

Of the 25 guilty pleas, 23 are recorded with a plea agreement and 2 have no entry. Army records show whether there was an agreement, not what it provided. Of the 3 decided contested cases, 1 ended in a full acquittal.

Sentences by Court Level

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. The installation had 15 general and 12 special courts-martial, with 1 case not listing a level.

At the general level, 93% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 3.5 years. At the special level, 100% included confinement, and the median was 4 months. General courts-martial were 56% of cases with a court level listed, lower than the 66% across the Army.

Which Charges Were More Common?

Charge lists cover 26 of 28 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 6 cases, 23% compared with 11% in all Army cases that year. The general article, Article 134, was the most common charge, in 27%, compared with 22%.

Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) and Article 80 (attempts) were each charged in 3 cases, or 12%, compared with 6% and 7% across the Army. Domestic violence under Article 128b was less common: 15% here compared with 26%. Each article counts once per case, so a case can appear under several rows.

Punitive Discharges

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge was part of 70% of enlisted convictions here: 10 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. In all Army cases that year the share was 73%.

Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Changes From 2024

There were 32 cases in 2024 and 28 in 2025. The contested share went from 41% to 11%. Full acquittals went from 5 of 13 to 1 of 3. The median confinement went from 9 months to 1 year. Confinement was part of 96% of convictions, compared with 85% in 2024.

Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 84% to 70%. General courts-martial went from 77% of cases to 56%. With counts this small, a few cases can change each figure, so these changes show direction only.

Forum, Rank, and Similar Installations

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone decided 25 of 28 cases (89%); enlisted panels heard the other 3. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the split follows the small number of contested cases.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 54% of the accused. NCOs made up 39%, and officers 7%. Across the Army, junior enlisted were 50%.

Fort Bliss (27 cases) and Fort Bragg (29 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Only 7% of cases at Fort Bliss were contested, compared with 28% at Fort Bragg. The median confinement was 9 months at Fort Bliss and 8 months at Fort Bragg, both shorter than the 1 year here.

Rules in Effect and What the Records Omit

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 is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records do not include, so a 2025 trial may still follow the older rules.

The records also do not show the evidence, the terms of plea agreements, and conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.