Article 128 With Article 92 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 92

Based on 79 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Full Acquittals Than in Other Assault Cases

A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. In this pairing, 28 contested cases reached a verdict. Of those, 4 ended in a full acquittal (14%). For all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2026, the full-acquittal rate was 36%.

Another 11 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (39%). A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. The remaining contested cases ended in conviction on every charge that went to verdict.

Pleas were listed in 77 of the 79 records. Of those, 49 accused pleaded guilty and 28 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 36%, about the same as the 38% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.

Punitive Discharges After Conviction

Of 69 convicted enlisted members, 47 received a punitive discharge (68%). That count includes 41 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, the share was 54%.

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. Officers receive a dismissal instead. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

How Long Was the Confinement?

Of 75 convictions, 62 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2026. A quarter of those terms were 11 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences: the terms announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the assault and the orders violation.

The table compares confinement bands with the wider group. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 28% of convictions here, compared with 24%. Terms longer than one year came in 12 of 75 convictions (16%), about the same as the 15% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. No confinement was adjudged in 13 convictions (17%), compared with 21%.

General and Special Courts-Martial

These cases were split between 31 general courts-martial and 48 special courts-martial. The general share was 39%, compared with 42% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge.

At the general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1 year. At the special courts-martial, 83% also included confinement, with a median of 3 months.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Every case in this group charged at least one article besides Article 128. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 15 cases. Article 115 (communicating threats) appeared in 10, and Article 134 (general article) and Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 9 each.

When an assault charge appears with a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, the assault count can describe part of the same incident. The records list charges but do not describe the conduct behind them.

Rank of the Accused

Among the accused with rank recorded, 44 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 28 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). None were officers or warrant officers. The rank mix was similar to all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, where 62% of the accused were junior enlisted.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from January 2021 through April 2026. By year, there were 29 cases in 2021, 11 in 2022, 16 in 2023, 6 in 2024, 14 in 2025, and 3 in 2026. The 2026 count covers part of the year only.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 23 of these cases and Camp Pendleton, California tried 10. Norfolk, Virginia tried 5, and MCAS Miramar, California and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 4 each. These five installations account for 58% of the 79 cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds, so a high count does not by itself show a problem with this offense at that base.

Rule Changes and Record Limits

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. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation.

For offenses after December 27, 2023, when every guilty finding is for such an offense, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both changes depend on the offense date. The records give only trial dates, so cases tried from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or matters 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.

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.