Articles 115 and 90 in the Same Case: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 115 › With Article 90

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

Full Acquittals Were Less Common

A full acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of every charge. In this group, 1 of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict ended that way. The full-acquittal rate of 10% is lower than the 25% for Article 115 cases across the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.

Another 8 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another, and a sentence still follows.

What Share of the Accused Pleaded Guilty?

Guilty pleas resolved 14 cases, and 10 cases were contested. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, through a full not-guilty plea or a mixed plea.

The contested share was 42%. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 115, it was 37%, so contested cases were somewhat more common here.

Length of Confinement

There were 23 convictions, and confinement was part of 87% of them. The median confinement was 10 months. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.5 years or longer.

Sentences of more than one year appeared in 8 of 23 convictions (35%), compared with 28% for all Article 115 cases in these services. The table breaks the sentences into bands. At the long end, 13% of convictions here carried 5 years or more, compared with 7% in the comparison group. At the short end, 13% of convictions here carried no confinement at all.

All of these are adjudged sentences, recorded before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence also covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 115 and Article 90 counts.

Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers

Of 21 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (71%). That is higher than the 67% for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 115. Of the 15 punitive discharges, 4 were dishonorable discharges.

The group includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers. Neither was dismissed, dismissal being the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Charges That Appeared Alongside Article 115

None of the 24 cases charged Article 115 alone. Article 90 appears in all 24 by definition. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 15 cases, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 10, Article 134 (general article) in 10, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 7.

When a case includes assault or domestic violence charges, the single sentence adjudged in that case covers those charges as well.

Who Was Charged, and at What Court Level

By rank, the accused were 14 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group is more senior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 115.

General courts-martial heard 16 of the 24 cases (67%), and special courts-martial heard the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Trials by Year

The 24 trials took place from January 2021 through March 2026. By year: 2021: 8, 2022: 6, 2023: 3, 2024: 3, 2025: 2, and 2026: 2. The 2026 count is for a partial year.

Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both changes depend on when the offense happened. The records list trial dates only, so 2024 and later trials include cases under both sets of rules, and the records cannot show whether either change affected these numbers.

Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases where no action was taken do not appear in these records. The records also leave out the evidence and the terms of any plea agreement.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 115 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.