Army Article 128 Cases in 2021

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Army, 2021

Based on 204 cases · 2021 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Accused Pleaded Not Guilty

A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 203 cases with a plea recorded, 88 were contested and 115 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 43%, higher than the 36% for the Army overall in 2021.

103 of the 115 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 12 have no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not its terms.

How Did Contested Cases End?

27 of 88 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, with no guilty finding on any charge. 49 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results are reported charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common.

The full-acquittal rate was 31%, lower than the 35% for all Army cases in 2021.

Members Acquitted More Often Than Military Judges

Members, the military version of a jury, returned a full acquittal in 39% of the contested cases they decided. Military judges sitting alone returned a full acquittal in 10%. Those figures cover 86 decided contested cases with the forum listed. The accused usually chooses the forum, so the cases each one heard are not alike.

Across all cases with the forum listed, a judge alone decided guilt in 144 of 202 (71%). Members heard 58: 48 enlisted panels and 10 officer panels. Members heard 57 of 86 contested cases (66%).

Other Charges in the Same Cases

45 of 204 cases charged Article 128 alone. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 71 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 47, Article 92 (orders violation) in 29, and Article 80 (attempt) and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 21 each.

When assault is charged with sexual assault, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. Sentences in this group cover whole cases, not the assault alone.

How Much Confinement?

78% of 177 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the Army-wide median. A quarter of the sentences were 1.8 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences: what the court announced, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

41 of 177 convictions (23%) were sentenced to more than one year, about the same as the 26% for all Army cases. 17 convictions (10%) were sentenced to 5 years or more. 39 (22%) had no confinement.

Court Level

A general court-martial can impose any lawful punishment. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. 165 of these cases were general courts-martial (81%), higher than the 73% for the Army as a whole. 38 were special courts-martial, and 1 case lists no level.

At general courts-martial, 81% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 7 months. At special courts-martial, 66% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 4 months.

Discharges and Rank

65% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 77 bad-conduct and 29 dishonorable discharges. The Army-wide share was 70%. 6 of 13 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 59% of the accused, close to the 58% across the Army. NCOs were 34% and officers 7%.

Installations With the Most Cases

Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell each tried 24 of these cases, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 22, Fort Bliss 16, and Wheeler Army Airfield 12. Together these 5 account for 48% of the 204 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every type, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

What the Records Do Not Show

The services had to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. This post therefore has no earlier year for comparison.

The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not show the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include assaults resolved by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: 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.