Article 128b With Article 90 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 90

Based on 25 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Confinement Was Longer Than in Other Domestic Violence Cases

Of 24 convictions, 92% included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months. For all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases in 2021–2026, the median was 5 months. A quarter of the terms here were 1 year or longer.

These figures are adjudged sentences. They are the terms announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case.

Sentences by Length

Terms longer than one year came in 5 of 24 convictions (21%). That was more often than in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases, where the share was 13%. No conviction here carried 5 years or more, compared with 3% in the wider group.

Only 2 convictions (8%) carried no confinement, compared with 20% across Article 128b cases. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 33% of convictions, compared with 24%. Terms under 6 months made up 38%, compared with 43%.

Punitive Discharges

Among 23 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge (65%). Only 1 of those was a dishonorable discharge. For all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases, the punitive discharge rate was 57%.

The cases include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Court Level and Contested Cases

The 25 cases included 12 general courts-martial and 12 special courts-martial. The court level is not listed for 1 case. General courts-martial made up 50% of the 24 cases with a court level listed, compared with 36% for Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases overall.

Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year. The general courts-martial here had a median confinement of 1 year, and 42% of them were contested. The special courts-martial had a median of 2 months, and 17% were contested.

Guilty Pleas and Contested Pleas

A plea is listed in 24 of the 25 records. Of those, 17 were guilty pleas and 7 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 29%, about the same as the 30% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases.

Who Was Charged

Among the accused with rank recorded, 18 were junior enlisted members, 5 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps Article 128b cases as a whole.

None of the 25 cases charged domestic violence alone. Besides Article 90, the most common other charges were Article 134 (general article) and Article 131b (obstruction), in 3 cases each. Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 119b (child endangerment) appeared in 1 case each.

When and Where the Cases Were Tried

The cases run from February 2021 to July 2026. There was 1 case in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 2 in 2023. The count was 9 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 4 in 2026, which is a partial year.

Camp Pendleton, California tried 7 of the cases, Norfolk, Virginia tried 5, and San Diego, California tried 4. Quantico, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 2 each. Together these five installations account for 80% of the 25 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not show that any base has a problem with this offense.

Law Changes and What the Records Leave Out

Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Earlier conduct of this kind was charged under other articles. Article 128b is also a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses.

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. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so cases tried from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.