> ## 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. # Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2024/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:37.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:50.000Z - Description: Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault) in 61 cases in 2024. Only 47% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps, 2024 **Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault) in 61 cases in 2024\. Only 47% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 44 of the 61 cases were special courts-martial. Based on 61 cases · 2024 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Service A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. In 2024, 47% of convicted enlisted members in these assault cases received one: 20 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, the rate was 58%. That rate was 65% in 2023\. The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial Of the 61 cases, 17 were general courts-martial and 44 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 28%. That is lower than the 38% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024 and the 54% for this offense in 2023. The court level sets the maximum punishment. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Here, the median confinement was 1.6 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. ## Most Confinement Was Short Of 55 convictions, 73% included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months. 23 convictions (42%) included under 6 months, and 15 (27%) had no confinement. Both shares were slightly higher than for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 8 of 55 convictions (15%) included confinement longer than one year, less often than the 22% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 15 | 27% | 25% | | Under 6 months | 23 | 42% | 38% | | 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 16% | 15% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 11% | 15% | | 5 years or more | 2 | 4% | 7% | ## Pleas and Verdicts Of 58 records that list the plea, 36 were guilty pleas and 22 contested at least one charge. That makes 38% contested, compared with 34% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, including a mixed plea. 44% of general courts-martial and 36% of special courts-martial were contested. Of the 22 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (18%), lower than the 27% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024\. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another. ## How 2024 Compared With 2023 There were 80 cases in 2023 and 61 in 2024\. Median confinement went from 6 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 82% to 73%. Full acquittals went from 14 of 27 contested cases that reached a verdict to 4 of 22\. The contested share went up, from 34% to 38%. In groups this small, a few cases can change any of these measures, so they show direction only. | | 2023 | 2024 | | ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- | | Cases | 80 | 61 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 34% | 38% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 14 of 27 | 4 of 22 | | Convictions with confinement | 82% | 73% | | Median confinement | 6 months | 4 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 65% | 47% | | General courts-martial | 54% | 28% | ## New Rules in Force Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, a military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Assault is not itself a covered offense, though a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records do not give. 2024 trials include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether the rules affected any figure here. ## Other Articles in the Same Cases In 32 of the 61 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 134 (general article) was the most common, in 10, followed by Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6 each, and Article 125 (kidnapping) and Article 121 (larceny) in 3 each. The sentence covers the whole case. The records do not show whether an assault charge and a sexual assault charge describe the same incident. ## The Accused and the Bases Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, NCOs 40%, and officers 3%. That is about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, where 58% were junior enlisted. Camp Pendleton, California had 10 cases, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 9, San Diego, California had 8, Norfolk, Virginia had 5, and Mayport, Florida had 4\. Together they account for 59% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## What the Trial Record Omits Only cases that went to court-martial are here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and allegations that led to no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or any plea terms. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2024 that charged Article 128 (61 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2023. 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 - [Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2023/) (previous / next) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2025/) (previous / next) - [Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-trend-2017-2025/) (the full trend) - [Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2018/) - [Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2019: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2019/) - [Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2022: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2022/) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2020/) - [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2023/)Next: [How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2025/) → **Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-article-128/) **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.