Article 128 Cases at Jacksonville, Florida, 2013–2018: 24 Courts-Martial

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Based on 24 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sentences Were Longer Than Across the Service

Confinement was part of 90% of the 20 convictions. The median confinement was 1.1 years, compared with 8 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 2.7 years or longer.

The most common sentence length was more than 1 year but under 5 years: 35% of convictions, compared with 19% elsewhere. 9 of 20 convictions (45%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 33% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 10% of convictions here and 13% elsewhere.

Sexual Assault Was the Most Common Other Charge

21 of the 24 cases charged at least one other article besides assault. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 12, Article 92 (orders violation) in 5, Article 115 (malingering) in 5, Article 114 (dueling) in 4, and Article 112a (drug) in 3.

When an assault charge is filed with a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, it can describe part of the same incident. A sentence covers every charge in the case, so the confinement figures above include those other charges, not the assault alone.

How Often Did a Conviction Include a Punitive Discharge?

Among 20 enlisted members convicted, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (75%), more often than in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2013–2018 (63%). Of those 15, 9 were dishonorable, a discharge that only a general court-martial can impose.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Most Accused Pleaded Guilty

Of the 24 accused, 16 pleaded guilty and 8 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 33%, lower than the 43% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In a contested case, the government must prove that charge at trial, and the result can include a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and counts on this page use only the records that list one.

A More Senior Group

NCOs made up 50% of the accused. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 46%, and officers made up 4%. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, junior enlisted members were 55%, so this group was more senior.

Every convicted member counted in the discharge figures above was enlisted, so the officer in the group does not appear among them.

Court Levels

There were 16 general and 8 special courts-martial. General courts-martial were 67% of cases, compared with 60% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Most Cases Came in the Early Years

The records show 24 cases between January 2013 and September 2018: 7 in 2013, 9 in 2014, 6 in 2015, 0 in 2016, 0 in 2017, and 2 in 2018. Assault was charged in 31% of the 78 courts-martial at Jacksonville, Florida across those years.

There were no cases in 2016 or 2017. The records do not show whether no assault cases were tried in those years or whether the published records are incomplete.

The Rules That Governed These Trials

Every case here was tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016, which took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules.

Assault is not itself a covered offense under the later special trial counsel system, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault, such as one tied to a domestic violence allegation.

What Is Not Recorded

Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, the dates of the offenses, or assaults handled outside a court-martial 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.