Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2023

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2023

Based on 80 cases · 2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

14 of 27 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. That 52% rate is higher than the 22% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023. The year before, the count was 6 of 24.

Another 3 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either outright or through a mixed plea.

Pleas Were About the Same as the Service

Every case in this group lists a plea. There were 53 guilty pleas and 27 not-guilty or mixed pleas, so 34% of cases were contested, compared with 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023.

Contested cases were more common at general courts-martial (44%) than at special courts-martial (22%).

Sentences After a Conviction

Of 80 cases, 66 ended with a conviction on at least one charge, and 54 of those sentences included confinement (82%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median for all Navy and Marine Corps cases.

Shorter terms were the most common: 24 convictions (36%) included under 6 months and 14 (21%) included 6 months to 1 year. 12 (18%) had no confinement. 14 convictions included between 1 and 5 years, and 2 included 5 years or more.

Sentences by Court Level

16 of 66 convictions (24%) included confinement longer than one year, about the same as the 23% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than a year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year and limited to a bad-conduct discharge.

43 of these cases (54%) were general courts-martial, compared with 46% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. The median confinement was 1.1 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at the 37 special courts-martial. Adjudged sentences are the terms announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.

Discharges After Conviction

65% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 34 bad-conduct discharges and 7 dishonorable discharges. The rate for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023 was 63%. A single convicted officer or warrant officer appears in the records, and that officer was not dismissed.

A service member without a punitive discharge can still be removed later through administrative separation. Separations are not in these records.

Changes From 2022

There were 79 cases in 2022 and 80 in 2023. Several measures were higher. The contested share went from 30% to 34%. Median confinement went from 5 months to 6 months. Enlisted punitive discharges went from 55% to 65%, and the general court-martial share went from 37% to 54%. Convictions with confinement were 81% and then 82%.

These groups are small, so a few cases can account for any one change. The changes show direction, not a precise trend.

Other Charges in These Cases

In 31 of 80 cases, Article 128 was the only charge. Other cases also charged Article 120 (sexual assault) in 19 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 16, Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) in 7, and Article 121 (larceny) and Article 134 (general article) in 5 each.

The sentence covers the entire case. The records do not show whether an assault charge and a sexual assault charge describe the same incident.

Rank and Installation

Among the accused with rank recorded, 48 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 27 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 were officers or warrant officers. This rank mix is about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023, where 65% were junior enlisted.

San Diego, California and Norfolk, Virginia had 12 cases each, Camp Pendleton, California had 9, Yokosuka, Japan had 6, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 5. Those 5 installations account for 55% of the 80 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

What the Records Do Not Show

Assault is not itself a covered offense under the special trial counsel reforms, though such counsel can take an assault tied to a covered offense, such as a domestic violence allegation.

The records give no offense dates, no description of the evidence, and no plea-agreement terms. Conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or other action outside a court-martial does not appear.

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.