Articles 128 and 93 in the Same Case: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › With Article 93

Based on 42 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most of the Accused Were NCOs

Maltreatment is an offense against a person subject to the accused's orders. The accused in this group were 36 NCOs, 5 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), and 1 officer. This group is more senior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128.

The 42 cases were tried from January 2013 to July 2026. No year had more than 8 cases, the count in 2021. The records show no cases in 2016, 2017, or 2020. The 2026 count covers only part of the year.

More Cases Were Contested

The plea is listed in 39 of the 42 records. Of those, 18 accused pleaded guilty and 21 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 54%, is higher than the 40% for all assault cases in these services.

More Full Acquittals Than Partial Acquittals

Of the 21 contested cases with a verdict, 12 ended in a full acquittal (57%) and 9 in a partial acquittal (43%). In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

The full-acquittal rate is higher than the 40% across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128. There are only 21 contested cases, so a change in a few verdicts would change the percentage.

What Followed a Conviction

Of the 42 cases, 30 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Confinement was part of 23 of those sentences (77%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median for all assault cases. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Sentence lengths varied widely. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer. Another 7 convictions (23%) included no confinement, compared with 15% in the comparison group.

Long Terms Came From General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 22 cases and special courts-martial heard 19. The court level is not listed for 1 case. The general court-martial share, 54%, is lower than the 62% for all Article 128 cases. Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.

At general courts-martial, confinement followed 75% of convictions, and the median confinement was 2.8 years. At special courts-martial, confinement followed 85% of convictions, and the median was 3 months. Sentences of more than 1 year followed 9 of 30 convictions (30%), compared with 27% across all assault cases.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. Of 29 convicted enlisted members, 18 received a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 9 dishonorable discharges. The share for all Article 128 cases in these services was 64%.

The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still be separated administratively later.

Other Charges and Installations

Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 17 of the 42 cases, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 15, Article 134 (general article) in 10, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 7. When assault and sexual assault are charged together, the assault count can cover part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case.

Fort Campbell had the most of these cases, with 4. Vilseck (Europe) and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 3 each, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Camp Humphreys had 2 each. These five installations account for 33% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every type.

What Is Missing

The Military Justice Act of 2016 changed court-martial rules on January 1, 2019. Further changes for covered offenses began on December 28, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to a given case.

Maltreatment and assault matters handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea 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.