Domestic Violence Plus Disobeying An Officer: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128b and 90

Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › With Article 90

Based on 80 cases · 2020–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Guilty Pleas in Most Cases

The plea is listed for 78 of the 80 cases, and 61 of them were guilty pleas. Only 17 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share, 22%, is lower than the 28% for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128b.

Of the 80 cases, 76 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The records name the articles charged but not the orders involved. They cannot show what the accused was alleged to have disobeyed or how it related to the domestic violence charge.

Verdicts in Contested Cases

Of the 17 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 18%, is lower than the 28% across all domestic violence cases in these services. Another 7 ended in a partial acquittal, with a not-guilty finding on at least one charge or specification and a guilty finding on another.

The contested group is small. A change in a few verdicts would change these percentages by a large amount.

Confinement Was Somewhat Longer

Of 76 convictions, 71 included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 6 months for all Article 128b cases. A quarter of the terms were 1.3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Sentences of more than 1 year followed 22 of 76 convictions (29%), compared with 20% in the comparison group. Only 5 convictions (7%) included no confinement, compared with 16% across all domestic violence cases. Terms from 6 months to 1 year followed 21 convictions (28%), compared with 21%.

Sentences at Each Court Level

General courts-martial heard 58 cases and special courts-martial heard 20. The court level is not listed for 2 cases. The general court-martial share, 74%, is higher than the 61% for all Article 128b cases. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial. The contested share was 26% at general courts-martial and 10% at special courts-martial.

Discharges After Conviction

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge followed 78% of enlisted convictions: 49 bad-conduct discharges and 9 dishonorable discharges. That is higher than the 69% for all domestic violence cases in these services.

The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still be separated administratively later.

Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted

The accused were 61 junior enlisted members, 16 NCOs, and 2 officers. This group is more junior than all Article 128b cases. Only 2 of the 80 accused were officers.

The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault), in 11 cases, and Article 134 (general article) and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since), in 10 each. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 9.

More Cases Each Year Since 2020

Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019. The first cases in this group were tried in November 2020. There were 2 cases in 2020 and 18 in 2024. There were 15 cases in 2025, and 14 in 2026 through July 2026, which is only part of the year.

Camp Pendleton, California had 7 of these cases. Fort Bragg and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 6 each, and Norfolk, Virginia and Fort Bliss had 5 each. These five installations account for 36% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

What the Records Cannot Show

Domestic violence under Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. New sentencing parameters also apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so later years include cases under both sets of rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected the number of cases.

Matters handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not counted. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

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

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.