When Article 121 and Article 131b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?

Trends › By Offense › Article 121 › With Article 131b

Based on 40 cases · 2015–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges Were More Common

Article 131b covers obstructing justice. In these 40 cases, it was charged with Article 121 (larceny). The comparison group in this post is every Army, Navy, and Marine Corps case charging Article 121.

The largest difference is in discharges. For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge was part of the sentence in 87% of enlisted convictions here: 26 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. For all Article 121 cases, the share was 64%.

Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. When no punitive discharge was adjudged, an administrative separation could still follow, and the court records do not show it.

Almost Every Conviction Included Confinement

Of the 40 cases, 39 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 38 of those sentences included confinement (97%). The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 5 months for all Article 121 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer.

Only 1 conviction (3%) included no confinement, compared with 17% in the comparison group. Sentences of more than one year were given in 14 of 39 convictions (36%), compared with 12%. Most of those were more than 1 year but under 5 years: 12 convictions (31%), compared with 10%. 10 convictions (26%) were under 6 months, compared with 43%. 14 (36%) were 6 months to 1 year, compared with 28%. Only 2 convictions (5%) were 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences. They were imposed at trial, cover every charge in the case, and come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Court Level and Sentence Length

General courts-martial heard 23 of the 40 cases (58%). Special courts-martial heard the other 17. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 1.3 years at general courts-martial and 5 months at special courts-martial.

Many Records Do Not List the Plea

Only 23 of the 40 records list the plea. Of those, 19 accused pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge by pleading not guilty to it. The contested share was 17%, compared with 15% for all Article 121 cases.

With so few contested cases, the records do not support a description of verdicts for this pairing. The missing pleas also limit what the plea figures can show.

Conspiracy Charges Were Common

In the comparison group, 190 of 675 Article 121 cases charged larceny alone. Here, Article 81 (conspiracy) was charged in 18 of the 40 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 107 (false official statement) were each charged in 12, and Article 134 (general article) in 7.

An adjudged sentence covers every charge in a case, so these other charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures.

Who Was Charged

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 54% of the accused and NCOs 46%. That is close to the comparison group, where junior enlisted members were 51%. No officers appear in this group. The sentence and discharge figures all describe enlisted members.

Most Cases Came From a Few Installations

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 12 of the 40 cases. San Diego, California had 5, Camp Pendleton, California and Bremerton, Washington had 4 each, and Vilseck (Europe) had 2. These 5 installations account for 68% of the cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so the counts do not by themselves say anything about one base.

The highest yearly counts were 8 in 2021, 7 in 2019, and 6 in 2018. Trials took place from April 2015 through October 2026, and the 2026 count covers part of the year. Since 2023, no year has had more than 2 cases.

What the Records Do Not Show

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It changed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements. Which rules applied depends on the offense date, and the records list only trial dates. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or why any case ended as it did.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 121 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 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.