When Members (A Panel) Decided a Contested Army Article 128 Case, 2021–2025

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Based on 146 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most of These Cases Also Charged Sexual Assault

Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 90 of the 146 cases. In all, 134 of the 146 cases charged at least one article besides Article 128. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 31, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 23, Article 92 (orders violation) in 20, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 18.

When an assault charge is tried with a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, the assault count can describe part of the same incident. A court-martial sentence covers every charge in the case, so the sentence figures on this page are not sentences for assault alone.

Full Acquittals and Partial Acquittals

Every case was contested: 146 not-guilty or mixed pleas and no guilty pleas. Full acquittals came in 36% of the 146 contested cases that reached a verdict, higher than the 30% in all contested Army Article 128 cases.

79 cases ended in a partial acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so this result is common in Army records.

Who Decided Guilt

Enlisted panels heard 130 of the cases and officer panels heard 16. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.

Because the accused makes that choice, panel cases and judge-alone cases are different groups. The figures here describe what happened in panel trials. They do not show that a panel caused the acquittal rate or the sentence lengths.

Sentences After a Conviction

94 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 73 of those sentences included confinement (78%). The median confinement was 2 years, longer than the 1.5-year median in all contested Army Article 128 cases. A quarter of those sentences were 5 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Sentence Lengths by Band

40 of 94 convictions (43%) included more than one year of confinement, about the same as the 42% in all contested Army Article 128 cases. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 23%, compared with 19%. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 19%, compared with 23%.

21 convictions carried no confinement (22%), compared with 23%. Sentences under 6 months made up 27% in both groups.

Results at Each Court Level

131 cases were tried at a general court-martial and 14 at a special court-martial, and the level is not listed for 1 case. The general share, 90%, compares with 89% in all contested Army Article 128 cases.

At general courts-martial, 81% of convictions brought confinement, with a median of 2.5 years. At special courts-martial, 62% did, with a median of 3 months. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Discharges and Dismissals

48 of 86 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 31 dishonorable discharges and 17 bad-conduct discharges. In all contested Army Article 128 cases, the share was 60%.

8 convicted officers or warrant officers appear here, and 5 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Rank, Years, and Installations

NCOs made up 48% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 47%, and officers 6%. Across all contested Army Article 128 cases, junior enlisted members were 44%.

The cases were tried from January 2021 to December 2025, with 57 in 2021, 29 in 2022, 28 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and 18 in 2025. Fort Bragg had 19, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 18, Vilseck (Europe) 12, Wheeler Army Airfield 11, and Fort Hood 9. Those five account for 47% of the 146. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Covered Offenses and Record Gaps

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether covered offenses are prosecuted. Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related offenses. Sexual assault, charged in most of these cases, is a covered offense.

Those rules turn on the offense date, and the records give only trial dates. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not include cases handled 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.