Articles 107 and 128b in the Same Case: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › With Article 128b

Based on 19 cases · 2020–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Contested Cases Were More Common

17 of the 19 records list the plea. 10 accused contested at least one charge and 7 pleaded guilty. The contested share of 59% was higher than the 34% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea.

How the Contested Cases Ended

10 contested cases reached a verdict. 2 ended in a full acquittal (20%), and 6 ended in a partial acquittal (60%). The full-acquittal rate was higher than the 15% in all cases charging Article 107 in these services.

A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. A case with a partial acquittal still ends in a conviction and a sentence.

Confinement

17 cases ended in a conviction, and 82% of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with a 6-month median in all cases charging Article 107. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 1.2 years or longer.

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

Punitive Discharges

12 of the 17 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (71%). In all cases charging Article 107 in these services, the share was 60%. 3 of the 12 were dishonorable discharges. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Orders, Larceny, and Assault Charges

Besides Article 107 and Article 128b, the most common charge was Article 92 (orders violation), in 7 cases. Article 121 (larceny) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 6 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 5. A case with several articles is counted under each one.

Rank and Court Level

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 53% of the accused, NCOs 42%, and officers 5%. In all cases charging Article 107, junior enlisted members made up 49%.

General courts-martial heard 15 of the 19 cases (79%), and special courts-martial heard the rest. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Cases by Year and the Rules That Applied

2023 and 2024 had 5 cases each, the most of any year. The other years had 1 or 2. The 2026 count covers only part of the year.

Domestic violence is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. 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. Both rules turn on the offense date, which the records do not give.

The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.

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.