How Jacksonville, Florida Handled Assault Cases (Article 128), 2019–2023

Trends › By Installation › Jacksonville, Florida › Article 128, 2019–2023

Based on 33 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Contested Assault Cases Ended in Full Acquittal

From 2019 through 2023, 33 courts-martial at Jacksonville, Florida charged Article 128 (assault). Contested cases made up 50% of those with a plea recorded: 16 not-guilty or mixed pleas and 16 guilty pleas, out of 32 records that list the plea. A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in the same years, the contested share was 40%. Cases at Jacksonville were contested more often.

Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 12 ended in a full acquittal (75%). 1 more ended in a partial acquittal (6%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Across the service, 49% of decided contested Article 128 cases ended in a full acquittal, lower than at Jacksonville.

Sexual Assault Was Often Charged in the Same Case

Assault was the only charge in 13 of the 33 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged with it in 13 cases, more than any other article. The next most common were Article 92 (orders violation) in 4, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 3, and Article 112a (drug) and Article 121 (larceny) in 2 each.

Navy and Marine Corps-wide, 194 of 574 Article 128 cases charged assault by itself. When assault is charged with sexual assault, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. The verdict and any sentence cover the whole case, not the assault alone.

Assault Cases as a Share of All Cases

The 33 assault cases were 43% of all 77 courts-martial at Jacksonville, Florida from 2019 through 2023. They were tried from March 2019 through December 2023.

The yearly counts were 5 in 2019, 9 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 8 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. With numbers this small, a few cases can change any percentage on this page. The figures show direction, not precision.

Few Convictions Included a Punitive Discharge

A punitive discharge, meaning a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member, was part of 21% of enlisted convictions here. All 4 were bad-conduct discharges; there were 0 dishonorable discharges. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2019–2023, the share was 61%.

1 officer or warrant officer was convicted, and 0 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, which these records do not track.

Shorter Confinement Than Across the Service

Of 21 convictions, 86% included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall. A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer.

Sentences under 6 months made up 52% of convictions here, compared with 35% across the service. Sentences over one year were less common: 4 of 21 (19%), compared with 24%. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

General and Special Courts-Martial

Jacksonville tried 19 of these cases at general courts-martial and 14 at special courts-martial. General courts-martial were 58% of these cases, compared with 52% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in those years.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. At general courts-martial here, the median confinement was 1.2 years. At special courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 3 months.

A More Senior Group of Accused

NCOs (E-5 to E-9) made up 53% of the accused. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 41%, and officers made up 6%. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall, junior enlisted members were 63% of the accused, so the Jacksonville group was more senior.

Article 128 assault is not a covered offense under the special trial counsel rules, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation.

Gaps in the Record

The records list trial dates, not offense dates, and they do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement. Cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear. These figures cover only the cases that reached a courtroom.

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.