> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2023 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2023/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:57.000Z - Description: In 2023, the median confinement in Army assault cases was 4 months, lower than the 6 months for all Army cases in 2023. The records show 119 cases charging Article 128 (assault) that year. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › Army, 2023 **Short answer:** In 2023, the median confinement in Army assault cases was 4 months, lower than the 6 months for all Army cases in 2023\. The records show 119 cases charging Article 128 (assault) that year. 14 of 44 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (32%), compared with 39% Army-wide. Based on 119 cases · 2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Most Sentences Were Under 6 Months 86% of the 105 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months. 56 convictions (53%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 39% across the Army. 8 convictions (8%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, compared with 16% service-wide. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover all charges in a case. ## Longer Sentences A quarter of the sentences were 1.3 years or longer. 26 of 105 convictions (25%) were sentenced to more than one year, slightly lower than the 28% Army-wide. 10 convictions were sentenced to 5 years or more. 15 convictions (14%) had no confinement. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in 2023 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- | | No confinement | 15 | 14% | 16% | | Under 6 months | 56 | 53% | 39% | | 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 8% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 16 | 15% | 21% | | 5 years or more | 10 | 10% | 8% | ## Contested Cases and Their Verdicts Of the 119 cases, 44 were contested and 75 were guilty pleas. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 37%, higher than the 31% for the Army as a whole. All 75 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. The records do not show the terms. 14 of the 44 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (32%), compared with 39% across the Army. 24 ended in a partial acquittal, with a not-guilty finding on at least one charge and a guilty finding on another. Army results are listed charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common. ## Members Heard Most Contested Cases The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or a panel of members determines guilt. A military judge alone decided 90 cases. Enlisted panels heard 27 and officer panels 1\. Members heard 24% of cases, compared with 19% Army-wide. Members also heard 28 of the 43 contested cases with the forum listed (65%). Members returned a full acquittal in 10 of 28 contested cases (36%). Military judges alone returned a full acquittal in 3 of 15 (20%). Because the accused chooses the forum, the cases in each group are not alike. ## What Changed Since 2022? The number of cases went from 132 to 119\. The median confinement went from 6 months to 4 months. Full acquittals went from 11 of 52 to 14 of 44\. The contested share went from 40% to 37%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were about the same, 73% and 74%. In groups of this size, a few cases can change a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precision. | | 2022 | 2023 | | ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- | | Cases | 132 | 119 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 40% | 37% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 11 of 52 | 14 of 44 | | Convictions with confinement | 85% | 86% | | Median confinement | 6 months | 4 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 73% | 74% | | General courts-martial | 83% | 79% | ## General and Special Courts-Martial A general court-martial may impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge and more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Here, 92 of the 116 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (79%), compared with 76% for all Army cases. 24 were special courts-martial, and 3 list no level. At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 6 months, and 45% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median confinement was 3 months, and 12% were contested. ## Punitive Discharges 74% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, the same as the 74% Army-wide. There were 52 bad-conduct and 20 dishonorable discharges. 1 of 8 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation. A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge is part of the court-martial sentence. An administrative separation is a separate process that these records do not show. ## Other Charges, Rank, and Installations 86 of 119 cases included at least one other article. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 36, Article 134 (general article) in 23, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 15, Article 92 (orders violation) in 12, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 10\. When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 57% of the accused, compared with 56% across the Army. NCOs were 36% and officers 7%. Fort Campbell tried 13 cases, Fort Hood 10, Fort Stewart 9, and Fort Carson and Fort Bliss 7 each. Together they account for 39% of the 119 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## What the Records Do Not Show The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any case 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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army courts-martial with a trial date in 2023 that charged Article 128 (119 cases), compared with all Army cases that year and with 2022. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2022/) (previous / next) - [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2024/) (previous / next) - [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/) (the full trend) - [Army Article 128 Cases in 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2021/) - [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2025/) - [Article 128 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-sent-2021-2025/) - [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2022/)Next: [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2024/) → **Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-army/) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.