> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 23 Domestic Violence Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026: What the Records Show - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-article-128b-2024-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:57.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:51.000Z - Description: Domestic violence convictions at Camp Pendleton, California carried more severe sentences than in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024–2026. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Camp Pendleton, California, Article 128b, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Camp Pendleton, California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) › Article 128b, 2024–2026 **Short answer:** Domestic violence convictions at Camp Pendleton, California carried more severe sentences than in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024–2026\. Of 19 enlisted members convicted in the 23 cases charging Article 128b, 15 received a punitive discharge (79%, compared with 47% service-wide). The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 3 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases. Based on 23 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Punitive Discharges Were Much More Common This page covers only courts-martial charging Article 128b, the domestic violence article, at Camp Pendleton from January 2024 through June 2026\. The largest difference from the rest of the service is the punitive discharge rate. Among the 19 enlisted members convicted, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and 2 of those were dishonorable. That 79% share compares with 47% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases overall. For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, and these records do not include those separations. ## Every Conviction Included Confinement Confinement was part of 100% of the 19 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 3 months for Article 128b cases across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the terms were 1 year or longer. These figures are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence also covers every charge in the case, not only the domestic violence charge. Many cases here included other charges. ## Other Charges in the Same Cases Only 11 of the 23 cases charged Article 128b alone. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 70 of 122 Article 128b cases charged it alone. The most common other charge was Article 90 (disobeying a superior commissioned officer), in 6 cases. Article 131b (obstruction of justice) appeared in 2\. Article 109 (property damage), Article 115 (communicating threats), and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 1\. The records do not divide a sentence among the charges in a case. ## Pleas and Rank of the Accused 21 records list a plea. Of those, 16 were guilty pleas and 5 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 24% was lower than the 31% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases in the same years. By rank, 16 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 4 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. That group is more junior than in the service as a whole, where 58% of those charged under Article 128b were junior enlisted. ## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial The records list 6 general courts-martial and 15 special courts-martial, with 2 cases not listed. The general court-martial share was 29%, compared with 33% of Article 128b cases across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only 2 of the 15 punitive discharges were dishonorable, and only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. Even so, the median confinement here was longer than the service-wide median, and a quarter of terms were 1 year or longer. ## Law Changes That Apply to These Years Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, which also include sexual assault and murder. In addition, when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the date of the offense, and these records give only the trial date. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both the old rules and the new ones, and the records cannot separate them. Article 128b covers only offenses on or after January 1, 2019\. Earlier conduct was charged under other articles. ## Cases by Year The records show 12 cases in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year. Together the 23 cases were 16% of the 142 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton in 2024–2026. With groups this small, a few cases can change a percentage by a large amount. The comparisons on this page show a direction more than a precise rate. ## What the Records Do Not Show Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or the date of the alleged conduct. Domestic incidents handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Courts-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California in 2024–2026 that charged Article 128b (23 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 128b in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Camp Pendleton, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) (hub) - [Article 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2017-2018/) - [Inside 142 Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [How Has Article 128b Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128b-trend-2017-2025/) - [16 Domestic Violence Courts-Martial at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/norfolk-virginia-article-128b-2024-2026/) - [24 Domestic Violence Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg, 2021–2023: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-article-128b-2021-2023/) - [28 Domestic Violence Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg, 2024–2026: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-article-128b-2024-2026/) - [S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s1e33-dismissing-the-camp-pendleton-case/) (podcast, members) - [Article 128b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128b Cases at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026 - [Alexander Douvas](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-alexander-douvas/) - [Todd Gaston](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-todd-gaston/) - [Matthew Harris](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-matthew-harris/) - [Douglas Hatch](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-douglas-hatch/) - [Peter Mcneilly](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-peter-mcneilly/) - [Derek Poteet](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-derek-poteet/) - [David Segraves](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-david-segraves/) - [Aran Walsh](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-aran-walsh/) Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the [Court-Martial Characters](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership. **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.