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# How Often Are Contested Army Article 128 Cases Acquitted?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-acq-2021-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:48:12.000Z
- Description: 74 of 244 contested Army courts-martial that charged Article 128 (assault) from 2021 through 2025 ended in a full acquittal (30%). That is lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases. 136 (56%) ended in a partial acquittal.
- 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/) › How Often Are Contested Army Article 128

**Short answer:** 74 of 244 contested Army courts-martial that charged Article 128 (assault) from 2021 through 2025 ended in a full acquittal (30%). That is lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases. 136 (56%) ended in a partial acquittal. 60% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% in all contested Army cases.

Based on 244 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Which Cases Are Counted

Every case here is contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge that included an assault count under Article 128\. Guilty pleas are not included. This post covers how often a contested assault case ended in a full acquittal.

74 of 244 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (30%). In all contested Army cases in the same years, the full-acquittal rate was 38%. Contested assault cases ended in a full acquittal less often.

## Partial Acquittals Were the Most Common Result

The most common result was a partial acquittal. In 136 cases (56%), the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.

Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common in Army data. A partial acquittal still includes a conviction and a sentence, so these cases are among the 170 convictions below.

## Members Acquitted More Often Than Military Judges

In these contested cases, members returned a full acquittal 36% of the time, and military judges 13%.

Members heard 146 of the 233 cases with the forum listed (63%): 130 enlisted panels and 16 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 87 (37%). The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so the cases each group heard are not alike. The difference does not show how judges and panels weigh the same evidence.

## Assault Charged With Sexual Assault

Article 128 was the only charge in 21 of the 244 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 135 cases. Other common charges were Article 134 (general article) in 58, Article 92 (orders violation) in 37, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 34, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 32.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. The acquittal and sentence figures here describe whole cases, not the assault charge by itself.

## Sentences After a Conviction

131 of 170 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 1.5 years, the same as in all contested Army cases. A quarter of the sentences were 5 years or longer.

The median confinement was 2.2 years at the 214 general courts-martial and 3 months at the 27 special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. General courts-martial made up 89% of the cases with a court level listed.

23% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 25% in all contested Army cases. 27% were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 22%. 19% were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 15%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all contested Army cases in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 39          | 23%        | 25%                                            |
| Under 6 months                  | 46          | 27%        | 22%                                            |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 13          | 8%         | 9%                                             |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 39          | 23%        | 28%                                            |
| 5 years or more                 | 33          | 19%        | 15%                                            |

## Discharges and Dismissals

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 93 of 155 convicted enlisted members received one (60%), lower than the 64% in all contested Army cases. 58 of those 93 were dishonorable discharges.

15 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 6 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Years, Installations, and Rank

The yearly count was lower each year: 88 in 2021, 52 in 2022, 44 in 2023, 35 in 2024, and 25 in 2025\. The records cannot show why.

Fort Bragg had the most of these cases, 31\. Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Fort Hood had 25 each, and Vilseck (Europe) and Wheeler Army Airfield 16 each. Together they account for 46% of the 244 cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds. By rank, the accused were 107 junior enlisted members, 118 NCOs, and 18 officers, That mix is similar to all contested Army cases.

## Law Changes and Missing Pieces

Assault is not itself a covered offense, but since December 28, 2023, a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense such as sexual assault or domestic violence can also take a related assault. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases.

The records show only what reached a courtroom. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action do not appear.

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 tried 2021–2025: where the accused contested a charge under Article 128 (assault) (244 cases), compared with all contested Army cases in those years.

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 Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub)
- [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/)
- [Article 128 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-sent-2021-2025/)
- [When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Assault](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-plea-2021-2025/)
- [Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases: What Happened at Trial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-acq-2017-2025/) (another service)
- [Fighting an Army Child Endangerment Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-acq-2021-2025/)
- [Fighting an Army Communicating Threats Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-115-acq-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)

**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.