Judge Alone or Members: How Contested Army and Air Force Cases Ended
In 1242 contested Army and Air Force courts-martial from 2021–2025, cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 47% of the time (387 of 821). Cases decided by a military judge alone ended in a full acquittal 31% of the time (130 of 421).
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Trends › Judge Alone or Members: How Contested Army and Air Force Cases Ended
Short answer: In 1242 contested Army and Air Force courts-martial from 2021–2025, cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 47% of the time (387 of 821). Cases decided by a military judge alone ended in a full acquittal 31% of the time (130 of 421). Across all 1242 cases, 517 ended in a full acquittal (42%).
Full Acquittals by Who Decided Guilt
Members heard 821 of the 1242 contested cases (66%). 387 of those cases ended in a full acquittal, meaning the accused was acquitted of all charges. That is 47%.
A military judge alone decided guilt in 421 cases (34%). 130 of those ended in a full acquittal, or 31%. Full acquittals were more common in members cases than in judge-alone cases.
Why These Groups Differ
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. The cases that go to members and the cases that go to a judge are not alike, and the records do not describe the evidence in either group.
The records cannot show whether the choice of forum changed any outcome. They show only how often each group of cases ended in a full acquittal.
Enlisted and Officer Panels
Of the 821 members cases, 644 went to enlisted panels and 177 went to officer panels.
Every case in this group was contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, with a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. Guilty-plea cases are not part of this group.
Partial Acquittals and Convictions
381 of the 1242 cases ended in a partial acquittal. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. In total, 725 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge.
The charge lists cover 1021 of the 1242 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 443 of them, and 214 ended in a conviction on that article. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 302, with 180 convictions on that article. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 182, with 114. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 161, with 98.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 443 | 214 (48%) | 2.5 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 302 | 180 (60%) | 1.2 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 182 | 114 (63%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 161 | 98 (61%) | 1 year |
The Charges in Contested Cases
Article 120 was charged in 43% of the cases with charges listed. Article 128 was charged in 30%, Article 134 in 18%, and Article 128b in 16%. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 14%, and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) in 10%.
One case can appear under several articles, so the rows overlap.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, contested Army and Air Force cases with the forum listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 443 | 43% | 43% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 302 | 30% | 30% |
| Art. 134 General article | 182 | 18% | 18% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 161 | 16% | 16% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 146 | 14% | 14% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 103 | 10% | 10% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 83 | 8% | 8% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 71 | 7% | 7% |
Confinement After a Contested Conviction
Confinement was part of 76% of the 725 convictions. The median confinement was 1.2 years. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 3.2 years or longer, and 3 were confinement for life.
173 convictions had no confinement (24%). 295 of the 725 convictions were sentenced to more than one year (41%). 95 of those were 5 years or more.
The median confinement for a conviction on Article 120 was 2.5 years. For Article 134 it was 1.5 years, for Article 128 it was 1.2 years, and for Article 128b it was 1 year. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, contested Army and Air Force cases with the forum listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 173 | 24% | 24% |
| Under 6 months | 177 | 24% | 24% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 80 | 11% | 11% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 200 | 28% | 28% |
| 5 years or more | 95 | 13% | 13% |
Court Level and Discharges
965 of the 1232 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (78%), with a median confinement of 1.6 years. 267 were special courts-martial, with a median of 2 months. The court level is not listed for 10 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
394 of 650 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 259 dishonorable discharges and 135 bad-conduct discharges. 75 convicted officers or warrant officers appear here, and 40 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Rank, Installations, and Years
Among the accused with rank recorded, 603 were junior enlisted members, 516 were NCOs, and 121 were officers.
Fort Hood had 84 of these cases, Fort Bragg had 66, Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 52, Wheeler Army Airfield had 42, and Camp Humphreys had 38. These 5 installations account for 23% of the 1242 cases.
The yearly count was 325 in 2021, 294 in 2022, 265 in 2023, 203 in 2024, and 155 in 2025.
What the Records Leave Out
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. The December 2023 changes to prosecution decisions and sentencing turn on the offense date, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army and Air Force courts-martial with trial dates in 2021–2025, a contested plea, a result posted, and the forum listed (1242). Navy and Marine Corps records do not reliably show the forum, so they are left out.
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
- Sentences (hub)
- Are Convicted Military Officers Dismissed?
- Can a Special Court-Martial Give a Dishonorable Discharge?
- Court-Martial Sentences: Junior Enlisted Members Compared With NCOs
- Does Every Court-Martial Conviction Bring a Punitive Discharge?
- Does Pleading Guilty at a Court-Martial Mean Confinement?
- How Often Do Army Courts-Martial End in a Partial Acquittal?
- How Often Do Contested Courts-Martial End in a Full Acquittal?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.