When Article 120 and Article 131b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › With Article 131b

Based on 48 cases · 2014–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

An Obstruction Charge With a Sexual Assault Charge

Article 131b covers obstructing justice. In these 48 courts-martial, it was charged in the same case as Article 120 (sexual assault). The records cover February 2014 through October 2026 and come from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.

The comparison group in this post is every Army, Navy, and Marine Corps case charging Article 120, with or without an obstruction charge. Compared with that group, this pairing differs most in 2 areas: how contested cases ended and how much confinement followed a conviction.

Full Acquittals Were Less Common

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 32 contested cases that reached a verdict, 28% ended in a full acquittal, a finding of not guilty on every charge. For all Article 120 cases, the rate was 49%.

Another 14 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. The case still results in a conviction and a sentence.

How Long Were the Sentences?

Of 39 convictions, 34 included confinement. The median confinement was 3 years, compared with 2 years for all Article 120 cases. A quarter of the sentences in this group were 16 years or longer.

Sentences of more than one year were given in 27 of 39 convictions (69%), compared with 57% in the comparison group. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 14 convictions, or 36%. For all Article 120 convictions, that share was 22%.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case, not only the obstruction charge or the sexual assault charge.

Contested Case or Guilty Plea?

The plea is listed in 45 of the 48 records. Of those, 13 accused pleaded guilty and 32 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 71%.

That is about the same as the 69% contested share for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120. Cases with an obstruction charge were contested at about the same rate as other sexual assault cases.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. Of 33 enlisted convictions, 28 included a punitive discharge: 10 bad-conduct discharges and 18 dishonorable discharges. For all Article 120 cases, 82% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge.

For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. All 3 convicted officers or warrant officers in this group were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation, which these court records do not show.

What Other Charges Were in These Cases?

Every case here included more than the 2 articles in the title. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 24 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 12, Article 134 (general article) in 11, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 9.

A sentence covers the whole case, so these other charges are part of the confinement figures.

Years, Rank, and Court Level

Most years had few cases, and 2018 had 0. The highest count was 14 cases in 2021. There were 8 in 2024. The 2026 count of 3 covers only part of the year.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 45% of the accused, NCOs 48%, and officers 7%. For all Article 120 cases, junior enlisted members were 55%.

General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence, heard 42 of the 48 cases (88%). The other 6 were special courts-martial, where confinement is capped at one year. For all Article 120 cases, the general court-martial share was 90%.

Installations, Rule Changes, and What the Records Do Not Show

Norfolk, Virginia, Fort Bragg, and Pensacola, Florida each had 4 of these cases, and Fort Benning and Fort Carson had 3 each. These 5 installations account for 38% of the 48 cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not by themselves say anything about one base.

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and Article 120 is one of them. Which rules applied depends on the offense date. The records list only trial dates, so cases tried from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases.

The records also do not include the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or matters resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. They show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show why a case ended as it did.

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 · Obstruction of Justice and Perjury: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences

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.