When Article 120 and Article 121 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › With Article 121

Based on 15 cases · 2013–2025 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Longer Median Confinement

14 cases ended in a conviction, and all 14 sentences included confinement. The median term was 3.5 years, longer than the 2-year median across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120. A quarter of the terms were 8.2 years or longer, and 1 sentence was life.

Each figure is an adjudged sentence, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. The sentence covers every charge in the case, including the larceny charge and any others.

Pleas

8 accused contested at least one charge by entering a not-guilty or mixed plea, and 7 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 53%. Across all Article 120 cases in these services, 69% were contested, so a guilty plea was more common in this group.

Discharges

A punitive discharge followed 79% of enlisted convictions: 2 bad-conduct discharges and 9 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120, the share was 82%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Rank and Court Level

The accused were 10 junior enlisted members, 4 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more junior group than in all Article 120 cases in these services.

14 of the 15 cases were general courts-martial and 1 was a special court-martial. The general share, 93%, compares with 90% across Article 120 cases. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

Other Charges

None of these 15 cases charged Article 120 alone, while 322 of 1266 Article 120 cases in these services did. After Article 121, the most common other charges were Article 128, assault, in 8 cases and Article 107, false official statement, in 6. Article 128b, domestic violence (numbered since 2019), and Article 80, attempt, appeared in 4 each.

Trial Years

Trials ran from March 2013 to December 2025. There were 2 in 2013, 1 each in 2014, 2015, and 2017, 1 in 2020, 3 in 2021, 1 each in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and 3 in 2025.

Law Changes and Gaps

Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019, the date the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. Article 120 is also a covered offense: since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute it. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so the version of the law and the rules for each case cannot be identified.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial · Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial

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.