Article 128 Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2024–2026: 20 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 128, 2024–2026

Based on 20 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Of the 20 accused, 16 pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge, meaning they entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 20%, lower than the 39% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in the same years. Assault cases here went to trial on the merits less often. Most cases in this group ended in a guilty plea, not a verdict after trial.

All 20 records in this group list a plea, so the contested share covers every case. The figures here do not show how many of the 4 contested cases ended in an acquittal. 19 of the 20 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge.

Sentences Under the New Rules

These trials took place after major changes to military justice. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. And when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, a military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both changes depend on when the offense occurred, and the records list only trial dates. Trials from 2024 onward therefore include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show which rules applied in any given case or whether either change affected the figures here.

Confinement in Most Convictions

Of 19 convictions, 14 included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, about the same as the 4 months in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 8 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the assault.

Punitive Discharges

Among 17 enlisted members convicted, 8 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (47%), and 2 of those were dishonorable. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases for 2024–2026, the share was 43%.

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge imposed as part of the sentence. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

Camp Lejeune tried 16 of the cases at special courts-martial and 4 at general courts-martial. The general share, 20%, compares with 27% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, though it can impose a bad-conduct discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Companion Charges

8 of the 20 cases charged Article 128 by itself, compared with 68 of 148 Article 128 cases across the Navy and Marine Corps. Among the other charges, the most common was Article 92 (orders violation), in 7 cases. Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 4 and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 2. Article 114 (endangerment) and Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 1 each.

Assault is not a covered offense on its own. Special trial counsel who take a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation.

Who Was Charged

14 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 4 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 were officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, where 62% were junior enlisted.

A Recent and Incomplete Period

The data shows 9 cases in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 3 so far in 2026, a partial year. Assault charges were part of 17% of the 119 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune from 2024 to 2026. With so few cases, a single trial can move any percentage on this page noticeably.

What the Records Leave Out

Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the terms of a plea agreement, or assault allegations handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.