Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) is on the glacial prairie south of Tacoma, between Puget Sound and the foothills of Mount Rainier. Interstate 5 runs right through JBLM on a federal easement, separating Lewis Main on the east from Lewis North on the west, with seven exits feeding directly into base gates. The Nisqually River forms the base’s southern boundary. The installation spans Pierce and Thurston counties, which becomes relevant when an allegation of a Soldier’s misconduct arises off base in Lakewood, DuPont, Spanaway, or Tacoma.
The base is home to I Corps, the 7th Infantry Division, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and 4th Battalion of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) authority for the most serious allegations at JBLM, known as “covered offenses,” belongs to the Office of Special Trial Counsel, Circuit 6. The OSTC office is on base, which means every one of their JB Lewis-McChord courts-martial is a home game for them.
JBLM is one of the busiest bases in the entire military for military justice, including the highest level of UCMJ cases. The docket is reliably full of cases under Article 120 sexual assault, Article 120b sexual abuse of a child, Article 134 child pornography, and domestic violence under Article 128b.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates focuses on defending those covered offenses and others, along with non-covered offenses like Article 133 conduct unbecoming and Article 128 assault. We typically have multiple active cases at JBLM and are in contact with the Circuit 6 office and the base legal office frequently.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Docket Activity
Upcoming and recent general and special courts-martial at JBLM show a high volume of covered offenses, including many Article 120b sexual abuse of a child and Article 134 child pornography cases. As of August 2026, cases not involving Gagne, Scherer & Associates docketed through the end of the year include:
- Multiple Article 120 sexual assault cases
- Article 120b sexual abuse of a child
- Attempted child-sex offenses under Article 120b
- Article 134 child pornography
- Article 128b domestic violence
- Article 120c indecent recording and related sexual misconduct
Past court-martial results (selected, 2025–2026) from cases not involving Gagne, Scherer & Associates include:
- Article 134 child pornography. Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 385 days confinement.
- Article 128b domestic violence. Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 100 days confinement, reduction.
- Articles 119a, 128b, 134, 133 (killing of an unborn child, domestic violence, fraternization, conduct unbecoming). Guilty. Dismissal, 12 years confinement.
- Article 80 (attempted sexual abuse of a child under Article 120b). Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 7 months confinement.
- Article 120b sexual abuse of a child. Guilty. Dishonorable discharge, 48 months confinement.
- Article 134 child pornography. Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement.
- Articles 80, 120b, 131b (sexual abuse of a child and attempted sexual assault of a child under Article 120b, obstruction). Guilty. Dishonorable discharge, 10 years confinement.
- Article 128b domestic violence (multiple specifications). Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement.
- Article 134 child pornography. Guilty. Bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement.
- Articles 80 and 134 (attempted sexual abuse of a child under Article 120b, plus Article 134 child pornography). Guilty. Dishonorable discharge, 42 months confinement.
- Article 120 sexual assault. Guilty. Dishonorable discharge, 60 months confinement.
- Articles 120 sexual assault and abusive sexual contact, and 120c indecent recording. Guilty. Dishonorable discharge, 75 months confinement.
Our OSTC sources confirm the CSAM and child sex offense caseload is hectic and expected to stay that way.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates Joint Base Lewis-McChord Cases
As part of our global military court-martial practice, Gagne, Scherer & Associates has defended Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for more than twenty years. Here are some of our recent case results.
SGT Kept Off the Sex-Offender Registry Despite Strong CSAM Evidence
A sergeant was court-martialed for communicating indecent language with a minor, sharing and obtaining illicit images, and possession and production of child pornography. The government insisted that any deal would have to include a registerable sex offense, years of confinement, and a dishonorable discharge. Despite overwhelming evidence, and knowing some form of punitive discharge was inevitable, Gagne, Scherer & Associates rejected all of those conditions as being too harsh under the facts of the case. After months of negotiation and a contested Article 32, Gagne, Scherer & Associates secured a deal for the sergeant to plead to non-registerable offenses (one of those charges was later set aside on appeal). At sentencing, the government still asked for years in confinement, but our sentencing case provided ample extenuation putting the conduct in a more sympathetic context, and we documented our client’s commendable battlefield service during the GWOT. The military judge imposed only four and a half months in jail. Our client received a bad-conduct discharge instead of a dishonorable discharge, was out of jail quickly, stayed off the sex-offender registry, and went on to build a successful career as a charter captain.
Article 120c and Child Pornography Production Charges Against Officer Dropped
A captain was accused of Article 120c and Article 134 child pornography production in a peeping-Tom case investigated by both Pierce County and the Army. He hired Gagne, Scherer & Associates immediately before his CID interview. We contacted CID, told them our client wouldn’t make a statement or submit to a polygraph, and contacted the OSTC prosecutor assigned to the case, whom we knew from prior cases. The prosecutor didn’t know much about the case at the time, but we gave him favorable information that local investigators and CID were unlikely to pass along during the investigation. We also intervened with Family Advocacy to stop them from pressuring our client for a statement. The complaining witness’s father harassed our client at home; we coached the officer through the difficult situation to keep things calm. We set our client up with a hand-selected local counsel for a protective-order hearing, and helped the family when CID and local law enforcement raided their home and storage facility. Based on the information our firm provided, OSTC deferred the case. The command then dropped it. Pierce County didn’t pursue charges.
Domestic Violence Allegation by Unit Member Dropped; MOS Restored
A private was accused of domestic violence by a Soldier in his unit after a brief casual romance ended. The allegation led to our client’s MOS being suspended. We contacted OSTC the same day we were hired, provided background information about the incident and complaining witness they didn’t have yet, and later briefed them on the contents of a letter the complaining witness had written to our client. Gagne, Scherer & Associates also shut down Family Advocacy’s attempt to get a statement from our client. OSTC deferred. The case was dropped. Our client’s MOS was restored.
Allegations by Estranged Spouse Dropped After Gagne, Scherer & Associates Intervention
A specialist was accused by her estranged husband of violating a military protective order, burglary, wrongful removal of a weapon from his residence, and making a false official statement. The husband didn’t make the allegations until after our client had accused him of abuse and been qualified as a victim of domestic violence. The command sided with the husband and (among other harassments) tried to force our client into the dorms after she had been authorized to live off base. We contacted the trial counsel and the husband’s civilian attorney, whom we had known for more than twenty years. The investigators and JAGs weren’t going to resolve anything on their own, so we worked it out with opposing counsel instead. We also headed off the command’s attempt to revoke our client’s off-base housing authorization. The case against our client was dropped.
FAQs by Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Where are courts-martial held at JBLM?
Courts-martial at JBLM are held at either the main Army courthouse on the Lewis side or the Air Force courtroom inside the McChord Services Building, depending on docket scheduling. The main Army court facility is referred to as “the courthouse,” though it’s officially designated as the Cascade courtroom complex.
What is the JBLM courthouse like?
This courthouse features two primary courtrooms. When you enter the building, Courtroom 1 is on the right, while Courtroom 2, the smaller of the two, is to the left near the court reporters’ area. Courtroom 2 is known as the main courtroom because it hosts more court-martial activity than Courtroom 1, despite its size. The courthouse has no legal offices other than the court and administrative staff, but it shares a building with the Sasquatch Saloon, a fully operational bar for Soldiers, which can be accessed through a rear door off the judicial hallway.
What happens if the JBLM courtrooms are unavailable?
The proceedings will happen in the Air Force courtroom inside Building 100 (the McChord Services Building) on the third floor, right down the legal office hallway. That happens when the main courthouse is booked due to high trial volume, or if infrastructure problems arise, such as a recent four-month maintenance outage that completely disabled the facility’s plumbing.
Is it safe for me to talk to Family Advocacy at JBLM?
No, FAP isn’t your friend and it’s not neutral. FAP will pressure the subject of an investigation to talk, claiming FAP isn’t law enforcement and only wants to help. But anything said to FAP will be relayed to CID and OSTC and used against you in court. In any case involving FAP, we intervene and prevent them from talking to our clients.
Can my commander order me to meet with FAP?
Yes, but only to go, not to provide a statement. While the command can legally order you to physically attend a FAP appointment, absolutely no one, neither your command nor the FAP counselors, can order you to talk to them or answer their questions. If you are the subject of an investigation, your Article 31(b) rights apply at all times, including meetings with FAP. When necessary, we give clients scripts for any command-required interaction with FAP to ensure they comply with the order to report without waiving their right to remain silent.
What happens when OSTC Circuit 6 defers a case at JBLM?
When OSTC defers a case, their exclusive jurisdiction over covered offenses ends, and the case gets sent to the base legal office and chain of command for disposition. Base prosecutors can take the underlying conduct (actus reus) of a deferred covered offense and downgrade it into non-covered offenses, such as turning an Article 128b domestic violence allegation into an Article 128 simple assault, or an Article 120 sexual assault into an Article 128 assault consummated by a battery to prosecute the case as a Special Court-Martial (SPCM). The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces approved the practice in United States v. Kruse, No. 26-0156/MC, decided September 1, 2026. Once OSTC defers a covered offense, the convening authority can refer charges for the same conduct, so long as the charges are non-covered offenses.
Why does Joint Base Lewis-McChord have so many separation boards?
If the base legal office chooses not to pursue a SPCM, deferred cases can be resolved administratively (e.g., with a GOMOR) or sent to administrative separation boards, where the burden of proof drops to a “preponderance of the evidence.” Because OSTC defers so many cases, JBLM maintains a heavy backlog of contested separation boards.
Can joint jurisdiction with Pierce County change how cases are handled at JBLM?
Yes, sex offenses, domestic violence, and other serious allegations often occur off base and frequently fall under joint jurisdiction. Pierce County detectives might execute search warrants, seek protective orders, or take the lead on parts of the investigation. When necessary, a civilian military attorney can set clients up with a trusted local criminal defense counsel to handle the civilian proceedings. As long as both cases are open, we stay in contact with the civilian attorney, the county detectives and prosecutors, and CID and OSTC on the military side.
Can a civilian military attorney represent me at JBLM without an office in Washington?
Yes, one of the features of military law is that the UCMJ, the rules of evidence, and the rules of procedure are the same at JBLM as at every other installation, with only minor local procedural quirks. Attorneys are not required to have a Washington bar license or office nearby to represent JBLM Soldiers. All that’s required is a bar license from some state. If the civilian appears in military court, the judge will swear him in.
How do I know the attorney I hire will handle my JBLM case?
Ask who will handle your case, appear at the Article 32, and show up for trial. Some out-of-state firms will take a case out of JBLM, collect the fee, and then hand the client and all of the work off to a local attorney who will take pennies on the dollar and has never tried a court-martial or dealt with OSTC. Also ask whether that lawyer served as a JAG and has defended covered-offense cases at JBLM.
Does TDS at JBLM provide help during the investigative stage?
No, they’re swamped with separation boards, courts-martial, walk-ins, professional development responsibilities, and PT. During the investigative stage, an accused typically gets a short intake meeting. The meeting is often with a paralegal instead of a lawyer. The help amounts to the basic advice not to talk to CID. That’s about all you’ll get unless something big happens, like you get ordered into pretrial confinement.
How often does Gagne, Scherer & Associates deal with OSTC and the base legal office at JBLM?
Several times a week. We usually have multiple active cases at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and long-standing professional relationships with counsel who previously served at Fort Polk, Fort Bragg, JBER, and other installations. One of our attorneys has a personal family connection to the base: his brother was born at Madigan Army Medical Center.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates: Experienced Joint Base Lewis-McChord Lawyers
We have almost 20 years of experience defending cases at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. If you’re under CID investigation or being court-martialed at JBLM, call or text us at (224) 935-6172 or send us a confidential contact form. You’ll consult directly with an attorney for free.