How Often Are Contested Navy-Marine Corps Article 128b Cases Acquitted?

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Based on 47 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Which Cases Are Counted

This post covers only Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial where the accused was charged with domestic violence under Article 128b (numbered since 2019) and contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. Cases with a guilty plea to every charge are not counted.

The period is 2017–2025, but the records show 0 such cases in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019, so earlier conduct was charged under other articles. The 47 cases were tried from July 2020 through December 2025: 2 in 2020, 2 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 19 in 2024, and 12 in 2025.

Full Acquittals Were Less Common Than in Other Contested Cases

Of the 47 contested cases that reached a verdict, 15% ended in a full acquittal. The full-acquittal rate for all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in the same years was 31%.

Another 18 cases were partial acquittals. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. A contested domestic violence case often ended with a not-guilty finding on some charges even when it did not end in a full acquittal. The records do not show the reasons for any verdict.

Sentences After Conviction

Of 40 convictions, 33 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, shorter than the 7 months for all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer.

Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 25% of convictions here, compared with 14% in the comparison group. No confinement was imposed in 18% of convictions, compared with 34%. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 8 of 40 convictions (20%), compared with 24%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Punitive Discharges

Of 38 convicted enlisted members, 20 received a punitive discharge: 15 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. For all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, the share was 50%.

Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

General and Special Courts-Martial

There were 25 general courts-martial and 22 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 53%, the same as the 53% for all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 58 days at special courts-martial.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Other Charges in These Cases

Article 128b was the only charge in 23 of the 47 cases. Other cases also charged Article 128 (assault) in 9 cases, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 7, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 6, Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 6, and Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) in 5. A full acquittal requires a not-guilty finding on every charge in the case.

Rank and Installations

The accused were 21 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 22 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. That group was more senior than all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, where 49% were junior enlisted.

Camp Pendleton, California had the most cases (7). San Diego, California, Quantico, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida had 5 each, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay had 4. Together they account for 55% of the 47 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

A Covered Offense

Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Cases rose to 19 in 2024, in the same period as these changes. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and cannot show whether the changes caused any part of that increase.

What the Records Do Not Show

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so some early contested cases may be missing. The records also do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or allegations handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128b on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.