I don’t have statistics, but it must be very rare. For one thing, there’s something like a 95% conviction rate from Article 32s through to courts-martial.
It’s rare for an IO to recommend dropping charges, and it’s rare for a convening authority to recommend any thing other than a court martial. I know that LCpl Tatum’s attorney believed from the beginning that there would be court martial, that it wouldn’t end at an Article 32.
“For one thing, there’s something like a 95% conviction rate from Article 32s through to courts-martial.”
Do you know if that conviction rate holds for any type of conviction?
I mean as in the case of Sandoval, he was convicted of planting evidence, not of 2 counts of murder, so maybe in these cases if they have to maintain that conviction rate (God forbid)they will find with the least of the charges and recommend the lightest sentence.