How Has Article 128b Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?

Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › Navy-Marine Corps

Based on 147 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Case Counts After the Article Took Effect

Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Earlier conduct was charged under other articles. The period starts in 2017, but the first case was tried in September 2019. There was 1 case in 2019, 5 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 10 in 2022, 30 in 2023, 51 in 2024, and 40 in 2025. The 147 cases make up 4% of the 3,740 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.

Convictions show the same increase. Article 128b was part of 1 of 1,243 convictions with offenses listed (0%) in 2017–2019. It was part of 114 of 940 (12%) in 2023–2025. The highest yearly count was 46 convictions in 2024, a 13% share. Shares make years with different caseloads comparable. The records cannot show the reasons for the increase.

Pleas and Verdicts

Of the 143 records that list a plea, 96 were guilty pleas and 47 were contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 33%, about the same as the 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

Of the 47 contested cases that reached a verdict, 7 ended in a full acquittal (15%). The rate in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps was 31%. Partial acquittals were more common: 18 cases ended with a not-guilty finding on some charges and a conviction on others.

Other Charges in These Cases

Domestic violence was the only charge in 68 of the 147 cases. When other articles were charged, the most common were Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 23, Article 128 (assault) in 22, Article 92 (orders violation) in 16, Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) in 12, and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 11.

Median Confinement Matched the Service

Confinement was part of 83% of the 140 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as across the Navy and Marine Corps. No confinement was imposed in 17% of convictions, about the same as the 18% overall.

Long sentences were less common than service-wide. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 23 of 140 convictions (16%), compared with 25%. Only 5 convictions included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers all charges in the case.

General and Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge and long confinement. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Here, 53 cases were general courts-martial and 94 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 36%, compared with 43% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases.

At general courts-martial, 90% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1 year. At special courts-martial, 79% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 3 months.

Punitive Discharges Matched the Service Rate

Of enlisted convictions, 61% included a punitive discharge: 70 bad-conduct discharges and 13 dishonorable discharges. The rate across all Navy and Marine Corps cases was 62%. The convicted also included 4 officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Rank and Installations

The accused were 90 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 50 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 5 officers or warrant officers. That rank mix is similar to the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, where 63% were junior enlisted.

Camp Pendleton, California had the most cases, with 27. Quantico, Virginia had 15, Norfolk, Virginia 14, and San Diego, California and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 12 each. Those five account for 54% of the 147 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not show a local problem.

Law Changes and the Limits of the Records

Several law changes fall within this period. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and brought fixed panel sizes and written plea agreements. Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. The records give trial dates but not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether the rule changes affected the counts.

The records do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or incidents handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. Records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list one.

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.