> ## 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. # How Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases Ended in 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:50.000Z - Description: In 2025 the records show 58 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault), Only 1 of the 48 convictions included more than one year of confinement (2%), compared with 16% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. The median confinement was 3 months. - 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, 2025 **Short answer:** In 2025 the records show 58 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault), Only 1 of the 48 convictions included more than one year of confinement (2%), compared with 16% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. The median confinement was 3 months. 46% of cases with a recorded plea were contested. Based on 58 cases · 2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Only 1 Sentence Was Longer Than One Year Of 48 convictions, only 1 included more than a year of confinement, and it was 5 years or more. No conviction included between 1 and 5 years. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025, 16% of convictions included more than one year. Most convictions had short confinement or none. 21 convictions (44%) included under 6 months, and 9 (19%) included 6 months to 1 year. 17 (35%) had no confinement, compared with 31% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 17 | 35% | 31% | | Under 6 months | 21 | 44% | 37% | | 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 19% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 0 | 0% | 11% | | 5 years or more | 1 | 2% | 5% | ## Median Confinement Was 3 Months 65% of the 48 convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 3 months. The median across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025 was 4 months. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. The median confinement was 50 days at the 43 special courts-martial and 6 months at the 15 general courts-martial. ## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial Only 15 of the 58 cases were general courts-martial (26%), compared with 36% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025\. That share was about the same as the 28% for this offense in 2024. Contested shares were about the same at the 2 levels: 53% at general courts-martial and 43% at special courts-martial. ## More Cases Were Contested Of 57 records listing a plea, 26 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 31 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The 46% contested share here compares with 37% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Among 26 contested cases that reached a verdict, 10 ended in a full acquittal (38%), higher than the 27% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025\. Another 6 (23%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. ## Punitive Discharges Below the Service Rate Of 44 convicted enlisted members, 17 received a punitive discharge: 15 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. That 39% rate was lower than the 46% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025. The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. Administrative separation is still possible after a sentence with no punitive discharge. Those actions are not recorded here. ## Change From 2024 There were 61 cases in 2024 and 58 in 2025\. The contested share went from 38% to 46%. Full acquittals went from 4 of 22 contested cases that reached a verdict to 10 of 26\. Median confinement went from 4 months to 3 months. Convictions with confinement went from 73% to 65%, and enlisted punitive discharges went from 47% to 39%. In groups this size, a few cases can change the figures, so the changes show direction only. | | 2024 | 2025 | | ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- | | Cases | 61 | 58 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 38% | 46% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 22 | 10 of 26 | | Convictions with confinement | 73% | 65% | | Median confinement | 4 months | 3 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 47% | 39% | | General courts-martial | 28% | 26% | ## Orders Violations Were the Most Common Other Charge Article 128 was the only charge in 25 of 58 cases. The most common other charge was Article 92 (orders violation), in 14 cases, followed by Article 134 (general article) and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 6 each, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 4, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 3. ## Rank, Bases, and Rules Among the accused with rank recorded, 37 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 15 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 were officers or warrant officers. This group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025, where 62% were junior enlisted. Camp Pendleton, California had 12 cases and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 8\. Norfolk, Virginia, San Diego, California, and Naples, Italy had 4 each. Together they account for 55% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023\. Assault is not itself covered, though it can be taken along with a covered offense. The records do not give offense dates, so 2025 trials include cases under both old and new rules. The records cannot show whether the rules affected these numbers. ## What the Records Do Not Show Court records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any conduct handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment. 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 2025 that charged Article 128 (58 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2024. 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 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2024/) (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/) - [Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases in 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2017/) - [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 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-2024/) **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.