Article 119b With Article 128 in the Army: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 119b › Army, with Article 128

Based on 18 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

How Contested Cases Ended

10 accused entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, and 8 pleaded guilty. Contested cases were 56% of those with a plea recorded, compared with 44% in Army-wide Article 119b cases.

Of the 10 contested cases with a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal (20%). That is higher than the 17% in all Army Article 119b cases in 2021–2025. 7 of the 10 (70%) 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 Army records.

Members Heard Most Contested Cases

A military judge alone decided guilt in 10 of the 18 cases (56%). Members heard 8: 7 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Among the contested cases, members heard 8 of 10 (80%).

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or members decide guilt, so the cases heard by each are not alike.

Sentences Were Longer Than the Article 119b Median

Of 16 convictions, 14 carried confinement. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 10 months across all Army Article 119b cases in 2021–2025. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 2.5 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Punitive Discharges

10 of 14 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. In Army-wide Article 119b cases, the share was 71%.

2 convicted officers or warrant officers appear, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Domestic Violence Was Often Charged Too

All 18 cases charged at least 1 other article besides Article 119b. Article 128b, domestic violence, appeared in 11 cases. Article 115, communicating threats, and Article 134, the general article, each appeared in 7. Article 120, sexual assault, appeared in 4.

Court Level and Rank

17 of the 18 cases were general courts-martial (94%), compared with 76% in Army-wide Article 119b cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The accused were 10 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group was more junior than Army Article 119b cases overall.

Trial Years

The trials ran from April 2021 through May 2025: 5 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 5 in 2023, 2 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.

What the Records Cannot Tell

Domestic violence is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show whether this change or the new sentencing parameters applied to the 2024 and 2025 trials. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial

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.