Article 128 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Before and After 2019
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii had 11 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2019–2023. The median confinement was 10 months, compared with 6 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases and 6 months at Pearl Harbor in 2013–2018.
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Short answer: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii had 11 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2019–2023. The median confinement was 10 months, compared with 6 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases and 6 months at Pearl Harbor in 2013–2018. Only 1 of the 11 cases charged assault by itself, and 5 also charged Article 120 (sexual assault).
Assault Charged With Other Offenses
Only 1 of the 11 cases charged Article 128 alone. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2019–2023, 194 of 574 charged it alone. At Pearl Harbor, Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 5 cases, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 3, Article 80 (attempt) in 3, Article 131b (obstruction) in 2, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 1.
When an assault charge appears next to a sexual assault charge, it can describe part of the same incident. The sentence covers every charge in the case.
Longer Confinement
Confinement was part of 91% of the 11 convictions. The median confinement was 10 months. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2019–2023, the median was 6 months. Among the Pearl Harbor sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 2 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
More General Courts-Martial and More Senior Accused
General courts-martial heard 8 of the 11 cases (73%), compared with 52% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
NCOs made up 45% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 36%, and officers 18%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 63% of those charged with Article 128.
Pleas and Verdicts
Of the 11 cases, 7 ended with a guilty plea and 4 were contested. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share, 36%, was about the same as the 40% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.
None of the 4 contested cases ended in a full acquittal (0 of 4). In 2013–2018, 6 of 15 contested cases with a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Then and Now
The 2013–2018 records show 38 cases over 6 years, about 6 a year. Since 2019 there have been about 3 a year, counting full years only. By year, there were 3 cases in 2019, 5 in 2020, 0 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. These 11 cases were 28% of the 39 courts-martial at Pearl Harbor in 2019–2023.
Median confinement went from 6 months to 10 months. A punitive discharge followed 67% of enlisted convictions in the earlier period and 6 of 9 in the later one. General courts-martial went from 63% to 73%. Small groups can change with a few cases, so these changes show a direction only.
| 2013–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 38 | 11 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 39% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 15 | 0 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 10 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 67% | 6 of 9 |
| General courts-martial | 63% | 73% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The records cover courts-martial only, not nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or cases with no action. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave out the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list one.
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.
How We Counted
Courts-martial tried at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii that charged Article 128 (found guilty, not guilty, or both): 2013–2018 (38) and 2019–2023 (11). Comparisons use every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 128 in 2019–2023.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2013–2018? 83 Courts-Martial (the whole docket)
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 39 Cases (the whole docket)
- What Was Tried at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2024–2026? 25 Courts-Martial (the whole docket)
- Article 128 at Camp Pendleton, California Before and After 2019 (same offense, another installation)
- Did Assault Cases at Norfolk, Virginia Change After 2019? (same offense, another installation)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128 Cases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2019–2023
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.