When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Domestic Violence

Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Gui

Based on 96 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Cases Began in 2021

The period starts in 2017, but the records show 0 of these cases from 2017 through 2020. Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Earlier conduct was charged under other articles.

There were 8 cases in 2021 and 6 in 2022. There were 22 in 2023, 32 in 2024, and 28 in 2025. The increase came in the same period that special trial counsel took over covered offenses, including domestic violence, on December 28, 2023. The records cannot show whether that change, the new article, or anything else caused the increase.

Punitive Discharges Were More Common Than Service-Wide

Of 93 convicted enlisted members, 60 received a punitive discharge: 52 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges. That is 65%, higher than the 60% for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years.

The 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separations.

Median Confinement Was Slightly Shorter

Confinement was part of 82% of the 96 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1 year or longer.

These are adjudged sentences: the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Sentence Ranges

Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 14 of 96 convictions (15%), compared with 21% for the broader group. Of those 14, 12 were between 1 and 5 years and 2 were 5 years or more.

Shorter sentences were slightly more common. No confinement was imposed in 17 convictions (18%), compared with 15%. Sentences under 6 months made up 44%, compared with 40%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 24% in both groups.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Special courts-martial tried 70 of these cases, and general courts-martial tried 26. The general court-martial share was 27%, lower than the 37% for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas.

The median confinement was 1.1 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. All 8 dishonorable discharges here therefore came from general courts-martial.

Article 128b Was Often the Only Charge

Article 128b was the only charge in 44 of the 96 cases. The most common other charge was Article 90 (disobeying an officer), in 15 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 12. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 6, and Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) in 5.

A sentence covers every charge in the case. When a case also charged assault or child endangerment, the records show one sentence for the whole case. The records do not divide a sentence among its charges.

Rank and Installations

The accused included 65 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 28 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, where 65% were junior enlisted.

Camp Pendleton, California had the most cases, with 19. Norfolk, Virginia had 11, Quantico, Virginia 10, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 8, and San Diego, California 7. Those five account for 57% of the 96 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not show a greater problem at any base.

A Covered Offense

Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these outcomes. Earlier, the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It brought written plea agreements, fixed panel sizes, and judge-alone special courts-martial limited to six months with no punitive discharge.

What the Records Do Not Show

The records do not describe the evidence, and they do not include the plea terms. Domestic violence allegations handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not counted.

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.