Assault Plus Orders Violation: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 92

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › With Article 92

Based on 271 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Full Acquittals

A contested case is one where the accused entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. Of the 80 contested cases that reached a verdict, 18 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 22%, is lower than the 40% across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128.

Partial acquittals were more common. In 42 of the 80 cases, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Cases Were Contested About as Often as Other Assault Cases

The plea is recorded for 203 of the 271 cases. There were 123 guilty pleas and 80 contested pleas, so 39% of cases were contested. The rate in the comparison group was 40%, about the same.

Sentences About the Same as for All Assault Cases

Of 250 convictions, 210 included confinement (84%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as for all Article 128 cases. A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences: the sentences imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers all the charges in the case.

Sentences of more than 1 year were less common here than in the comparison group. They followed 56 of 250 convictions (22%), compared with 27% across all assault cases. Terms under 6 months followed 95 convictions (38%), the same as the comparison figure. Terms of 5 years or more followed 22 convictions (9%), also the same as the 9% for all assault cases.

Sentences at Each Court Level

General courts-martial heard 145 cases (54%) and special courts-martial heard 125. The court level is not listed for 1 case. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to 1 year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge.

Confinement followed 85% of convictions at general courts-martial and 83% at special courts-martial. The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial cannot impose more than 1 year, so every sentence longer than 1 year in this group came from a general court-martial.

Discharges Followed Most Enlisted Convictions

Of 239 convicted enlisted members, 159 received a punitive discharge: 125 bad-conduct discharges and 34 dishonorable discharges. Across all Article 128 cases in these services, the punitive discharge share was 64%.

None of the 5 convicted officers or warrant officers in this group was dismissed. A member sentenced without a punitive discharge can still be separated administratively later.

A Somewhat More Senior Group

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 54% of the accused, NCOs 44%, and officers 2%. This group is somewhat more senior than all assault cases, where 58% of the accused were junior enlisted.

Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 62 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 46, Article 112a (drug) in 33, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 27. When an assault charge appears next to a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, it can describe part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case.

Cases by Year and Installation

The 271 cases were tried from January 2013 to June 2026. The highest yearly count was 58 cases in 2021. From 2022 through 2025, there were between 20 and 32 cases each year. The 2026 count covers only part of the year.

Marine Corps installations had the most cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 36 cases and Camp Pendleton, California had 28. Norfolk, Virginia had 13, and Fort Bragg and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had 11 each. These five installations account for 37% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

What the Trial Records Do Not Show

The Military Justice Act of 2016 changed court-martial practice on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so cases tried under the old and new rules cannot be separated. The records also cannot show why any number changed.

Orders violations and assaults handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea agreement terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.