When Article 134 and Article 90 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?

Trends › By Offense › Article 134 › With Article 90

Based on 69 cases · 2014–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Cases Were Contested

The plea appears in 61 of the 69 records. Of those, 39 accused pleaded guilty and 22 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 36%, is higher than the 26% across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 134.

Overall, 64 of the 69 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge.

Full Acquittals at the Same Rate as All General Article Cases

Of the 22 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 18%, is the same as the 18% for all general article cases.

Partial acquittals were the most common result. In 13 contested cases, the accused was acquitted of at least one charge or specification and convicted of another.

A Shorter Median Sentence

Confinement was part of 86% of the 64 convictions. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 1.3 years for all Article 134 cases. A quarter of the terms were 2.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Terms of more than 1 year followed 23 of 64 convictions (36%), less often than the 48% for all general article cases. Terms under 6 months followed 19 convictions (30%), compared with 21%. Terms from 6 months to 1 year followed 13 convictions (20%), compared with 18%. Terms of 5 years or more followed 7 convictions (11%), about the same as the 13% for the comparison group.

Sentences at Each Court Level

General courts-martial heard 42 of the 69 cases (61%), compared with 76% for all Article 134 cases. Special courts-martial heard the other 27. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.7 years, and 41% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median confinement was 4 months, and 25% of cases were contested. Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement, so all the longer terms in this group came from general courts-martial.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge followed 68% of enlisted convictions here: 23 bad-conduct discharges and 16 dishonorable discharges. Across all general article cases in these services, the share was 78%.

The records list 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Other Charges and Rank

Article 128 (assault) was charged in 26 of these cases and Article 92 (orders violation) in 19. Article 107 (false official statement) was charged in 12 cases and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 11. Across all general article cases, 542 of 1413 charged Article 134 alone.

The accused were 39 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 21 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 8 officers or warrant officers. This mix is similar to all Article 134 cases, where 55% of the accused were junior enlisted.

Most Cases Were Tried From 2021 On

The 69 cases were tried from March 2014 to July 2026. Before 2021, no year had more than 4 cases, and the records show no cases in 2015 or 2016. There were 21 cases in 2021, 12 in 2022, and 10 in 2023. Later years had fewer. The 2026 count covers only part of the year.

Fort Bliss had 8 of these cases and Fort Hood had 6. Camp Pendleton, California and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 5 each, and Fort Bragg had 4. These five installations account for 41% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Limits of the Records

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. So they cannot show which rules applied or whether either change affected these numbers.

Cases resolved through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The evidence and the plea terms are not recorded.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 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.