Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers
In 2018, 161 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault). Where a plea was recorded, 49% were contested, compared with 28% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2018
Short answer: In 2018, 161 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault). Where a plea was recorded, 49% were contested, compared with 28% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. The median confinement after a conviction was 10 months, compared with 7 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 1 conviction included a life sentence.
More Assault Cases Were Contested
Plea information appears in 70 of the 161 records. Of those, 36 accused pleaded guilty and 34 contested at least one charge by pleading not guilty or entering a mixed plea. That makes 49% contested. That is higher than the 28% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018 and the 36% for assault cases in 2017.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these shares describe only the cases where it was recorded.
Fewer Full Acquittals Than for All Cases
All 34 contested cases reached a verdict, and 14 ended in a full acquittal (41%). That was lower than the 46% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. In 2017, 18 of 31 contested assault cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
No contested case ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
Confinement and Long Sentences
90% of the 138 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 10 months, compared with 7 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A quarter of terms were 3 years or more. Of those terms, 1 was a life sentence.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Length of Confinement
52 of 138 convictions (38%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 30% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of those, 31 convictions (22%) included between 1 and 5 years and 21 (15%) included 5 years or more.
Most convictions included a year or less: 43 (31%) under 6 months and 29 (21%) from 6 months to 1 year. Both shares were about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Another 14 (10%) had no confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 14 | 10% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 43 | 31% | 32% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 29 | 21% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 31 | 22% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 21 | 15% | 9% |
Sentences by Court Level
98 of the 161 cases (61%) were general courts-martial, and 63 were special courts-martial. At general courts-martial, 92% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2.5 years. At special courts-martial, 86% included confinement, and the median was 4 months.
A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal.
Discharges Were at the Same Rate as the Service
Among 135 convicted enlisted members, 89 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (66%), the same as the 66% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018. Of those 89, 47 were dishonorable.
The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and both were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Rank and Other Charges
Among the accused with rank recorded, 91 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 56 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 4 were officers or warrant officers. This rank mix is about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018.
In 116 of the 161 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 120 (sexual assault) was the most common, in 63, followed by Article 120b (child sexual abuse) and Article 80 (attempt) in 18 each, Article 134 (general article) in 14, and Article 112a (drug) in 12. The records do not show whether an assault charge and a sexual assault charge in the same case describe the same incident.
Changes From 2017
There were 182 cases in 2017 and 161 in 2018. Median confinement was 10 months in both years. Convictions with confinement went from 92% to 90%, and punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 67% to 66%. The general court-martial share went from 59% to 61%.
The larger changes were in pleas and verdicts. In groups of this size, a few cases can change the figures, so these changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 182 | 161 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 36% | 49% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 18 of 31 | 14 of 34 |
| Convictions with confinement | 92% | 90% |
| Median confinement | 10 months | 10 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 67% | 66% |
| General courts-martial | 59% | 61% |
Installations and Limits of the Records
Camp Pendleton, California had 25 of these cases, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 20, Norfolk, Virginia had 17, Okinawa, Japan had 14, and San Diego, California had 11. Together they account for 54% of the 161 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, so none of its later changes applied. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or assaults handled by 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.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2018 that charged Article 128 (161 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2017.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2017 (previous / next)
- Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2019: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025 (the full trend)
- Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2022: The Year in Numbers
- How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2020
- How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2025
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Assault Conviction?
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.