Navy-Marine Corps Cases Charging Both Article 128 and Article 134

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 134

Based on 53 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Full Acquittals in 3 of 21 Contested Cases

A full acquittal means a finding of not guilty on every charge. Of the 21 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended that way (14%). In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases from 2021–2026, the rate was 36%.

Another 7 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. In those, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.

Pleas

The plea is listed in 52 of the 53 records. Of those, 31 were guilty pleas and 21 were contested, meaning the accused entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 40%, compares with 38% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall.

The records do not give a reason for any plea, and they do not include plea-agreement terms.

Sentence Length by Court Level

General courts-martial heard 23 of the 53 cases (43%), and special courts-martial heard 30. At the general courts-martial, 90% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.1 years. At the special courts-martial, 79% did, with a median of 4 months.

A special court-martial cannot adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be heard by a military judge alone, which limits confinement to six months and allows no punitive discharge.

Overall Confinement

There were 49 convictions, and 41 included confinement. The median was 6 months, close to the 6 months for Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall.

Confinement of more than one year came in 10 of the 49 convictions (20%), more often than the 15% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. Under 6 months was the largest band, with 17 convictions (35%), compared with 40%. Another 14 convictions (29%) carried 6 months to 1 year, compared with 24%, and 8 (16%) carried no confinement.

All of these are adjudged sentences, given at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence covers every charge in the case.

Discharges Close to the Article 128 Rate

Of 47 convicted enlisted members, 26 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (55%), about as often as in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases (54%). Only 2 of the 26 were dishonorable discharges.

The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.

Other Charges and Rank

Every case charged at least one article besides Article 128. Besides Article 134, the most frequent were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 10 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 9, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 8, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 5. When assault is charged next to sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault count can describe part of the same incident.

Among the accused with rank recorded, 32 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 19 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. That mix is similar to the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, where 62% were junior enlisted.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from January 2021 to March 2026. There were 22 in 2021, 7 in 2022, 5 in 2023, 10 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 3 in 2026. The 2026 count is a partial year.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 9 cases and Okinawa, Japan tried 6. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Camp Pendleton, California, and Quantico, Virginia tried 4 each. These five installations account for 51% of the 53 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every type.

What Changed and What Is Not Recorded

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Article 128 assault is not a covered offense by itself, but special trial counsel can also take related offenses, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both rules turn on the offense date, which the records do not give. The records also do not show the evidence, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations.

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.