Army Courts-Martial With Article 128b and Article 90, 2021–2026
In 53 Army courts-martial from 2021 to 2026, domestic violence under Article 128b was charged along with disobeying a superior commissioned officer under Article 90. 86% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% in Army Article 128b cases overall.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › Army, with Article 90
Short answer: In 53 Army courts-martial from 2021 to 2026, domestic violence under Article 128b was charged along with disobeying a superior commissioned officer under Article 90. 86% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% in Army Article 128b cases overall. 44 of the 53 accused pleaded guilty.
Punitive Discharges Were More Common
Among 49 enlisted members convicted, 42 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (86%). In Army Article 128b cases overall from 2021 to 2026, the share was 73%. 8 of the 42 were dishonorable discharges.
The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation, and separations are not in these records.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
44 accused pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 17%, is lower than the 27% in Army Article 128b cases overall.
38 of the 44 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 6 have no entry. Army records state whether an agreement existed but do not give its terms.
Few Cases Before Members
A military judge alone decided guilt in 47 cases. Enlisted panels heard 4, and no case went to an officer panel. Members heard 8% of the cases, compared with 19% in Army Article 128b cases overall.
The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Guilty pleas are usually heard by a military judge alone, so the forum split here follows the large number of guilty pleas.
Confinement
50 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 47 of those sentences included confinement (94%). The median term was 9 months, compared with 6 months in Army Article 128b cases overall. A quarter of the terms were 2.2 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They show what was imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Sentence Bands
16 of the 50 convictions (32%) carried more than one year of confinement, compared with 22% in Army Article 128b cases overall. Terms of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 24%, compared with 18%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 8%, compared with 4%.
Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 24%, compared with 20%. Terms under 6 months made up 38%, compared with 42%. Only 3 convictions (6%) had no confinement, compared with 15%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army Article 128b cases overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 6% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 19 | 38% | 42% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 12 | 24% | 20% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 24% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 4 | 8% | 4% |
Court Level and Rank
General courts-martial heard 44 of the 52 cases with a court level listed (85%); special courts-martial heard the rest. The court level is not listed for 1 case. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year and a bad-conduct discharge.
By rank, 42 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 10 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. In Army Article 128b cases overall, 56% were junior enlisted, so this group is more junior.
Other Charges
Article 128b was never the only charge in these cases. Besides Article 90, the most common other charges were Article 128 (assault) in 9 cases, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 9, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 7, and Article 109 (property damage) in 7.
A case counts under each article it included, so the counts overlap.
Years and Installations
The cases were tried from March 2021 through June 2026. There were 6 in 2021, 7 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 9 in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 10 in 2026, a partial year.
Fort Bragg and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 6 cases each. Fort Bliss had 5, and Fort Drum and Fort Stewart had 4 each. These five installations account for 47% of the 53 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself mean a problem at a base.
Limits and Rule Changes
Article 128b is a covered offense. It exists only for offenses on or after January 1, 2019, so earlier conduct was charged under other articles. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
The evidence and the plea terms are not in the records. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are left out, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128b on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with trial dates in 2021–2026 that charged both Article 128b and Article 90 (53 cases), compared with all 496 Army Article 128b cases in those years.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 90 (Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Cases Charging Both Article 128b and Article 92
- Army Courts-Martial With Article 128b and Article 131b, 2021–2026
- Article 128b With Article 134 in the Army: What the Records Show
- Article 128b With Article 90 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial With Article 128b and Article 92, 2021–2026
- Army Cases Charging Both Article 107 and Article 120
- Army Cases Charging Both Article 107 and Article 121
- Article 128b explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.