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# Fighting an Army Domestic Violence Charge: How Contested Cases Ended
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-acq-2021-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:04:42.000Z
- Description: 38 of 122 contested Army courts-martial charging Article 128b (domestic violence) from 2021 through 2025 ended in a full acquittal (31%). That is lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128b, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) › Fighting a Army Domestic Violence Charge

**Short answer:** 38 of 122 contested Army courts-martial charging Article 128b (domestic violence) from 2021 through 2025 ended in a full acquittal (31%). That is lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases. For convictions, the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 1.5 years in all contested Army cases.

Based on 122 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Members Heard Most of These Cases

Every case on this page is contested: the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge that included domestic violence under Article 128b. In these cases, a panel of members usually decided guilt. Members heard 83 of the 118 cases with the forum listed (70%): 65 enlisted panels and 18 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 35.

Members returned a full acquittal 39% of the time, and military judges 6%. The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so the cases each group heard are not alike. The difference does not show how a judge and a panel would weigh the same case.

## How Did These Cases End?

31% of the 122 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases. 69 cases 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, which is why partial acquittals are common in Army data.

In all, the 122 cases produced 84 convictions on at least one charge.

## Less Confinement Than in Other Contested Cases

74% of the 84 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 1.5 years in all contested Army cases. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer. 1 was a life sentence.

32% of convictions were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 22%. 26 of 84 convictions (31%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 44%. 19% were sentenced to more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 28%. 12% were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 15%. 26% of convictions had no confinement, about the same as the 25% in all contested cases.

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

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all contested Army cases in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 22          | 26%        | 25%                                            |
| Under 6 months                  | 27          | 32%        | 22%                                            |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 9           | 11%        | 9%                                             |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 16          | 19%        | 28%                                            |
| 5 years or more                 | 10          | 12%        | 15%                                            |

## Court Level and Sentence

109 of 122 cases were general courts-martial (89%), compared with 84% in all contested Army cases. The median confinement was 11 months at the 109 general courts-martial and 2 months at the 13 special courts-martial.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

## Discharges and Dismissals

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 43 of 71 convicted enlisted members received one (61%), slightly lower than the 64% in all contested Army cases. 15 of those 43 were dishonorable discharges.

5 of 13 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Rank and Installations

The accused were 42 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 59 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 21 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than all contested Army cases, where 44% were junior enlisted.

Fort Bragg had the most of these cases, 15\. Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 10, Fort Carson and Fort Bliss 8 each, and Camp Humphreys 7\. Together they account for 39% of the 122 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

## Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 128b was the only charge in 33 of the 122 cases. The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault) in 34 cases, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 30, Article 134 (general article) in 21, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 19, and Article 119b (child endangerment) in 16\. Verdicts and sentences cover the whole case, not the domestic violence charge alone.

## Years, Rule Changes, and What the Records Do Not Show

The yearly counts were 5 in 2021, 21 in 2022, 36 in 2023, 39 in 2024, and 21 in 2025\. Article 128b exists only for offenses on or after January 1, 2019\. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023\. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so the records cannot show whether the rules affected these results. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or cases resolved without a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?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 128b (domestic violence) (122 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 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub)
- [Is Army Domestic Violence Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 128b, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-trend-2021-2025/)
- [What Sentence Follows an Army Domestic Violence Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-sent-2021-2025/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Domestic Violence Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-plea-2021-2025/)
- [How Often Are Contested Navy-Marine Corps Article 128b Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128b-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 128b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**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.