Articles 107 and 115 in the Same Case: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › With Article 115

Based on 11 cases · 2021–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most of These Cases Were Contested

7 accused contested at least one charge and 4 pleaded guilty. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. The contested share of 64% was higher than the 34% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107.

Other Articles in the Same Cases

Each of the 11 cases charged at least one article besides Article 107. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 7 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 92 (orders violation) each appeared in 5. Domestic violence under Article 128b appeared in 4.

Article 115 has carried different offenses over time. Before 2019 it covered malingering. Since 2019 it covers communicating threats, which is the offense in every case here because all of them were tried from January 2021 through March 2026.

Confinement After Conviction

10 cases ended in a conviction, and 9 of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, close to the 6-month median for all cases charging Article 107 in these services. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 10 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences. They are set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 107 and Article 115 charges.

General Courts-Martial and Rank

General courts-martial heard 10 of the 11 cases (91%). A special court-martial heard the other case. 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.

7 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 3 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107, junior enlisted members made up 49% of the accused.

Cases by Year

The yearly counts were 3 in 2021, 4 in 2022, and 1 in each year from 2023 through 2026. The 2026 count covers only part of the year. With 11 cases in total, the yearly counts are too small to show a trend.

Law Changes and Missing Details

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.