How Washington, D.C. Handled Assault Cases (Article 128), 2013–2018
From 2013–2018, 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial at Washington, D.C. charged Article 128 (assault). 56% of cases were contested, compared with 43% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
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Short answer: From 2013–2018, 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial at Washington, D.C. charged Article 128 (assault). 56% of cases were contested, compared with 43% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 7 of 19 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (37%), compared with 48% service-wide.
More Assault Cases Were Contested
34 records list a plea. 19 were contested and 15 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either fully or with a mixed plea. The contested share was 56%, higher than the 43% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.
19 contested cases reached a verdict. 7 ended in a full acquittal (37%), lower than the 48% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 3 more (16%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
Assault Cases Were 46% of All Cases
These 35 cases were 46% of the 76 courts-martial at Washington, D.C. in 2013–2018. They were tried from February 2013 to December 2018: 6 in 2013, 8 in 2014, 6 in 2015, 6 in 2016, 4 in 2017, and 5 in 2018. Each year had between 4 and 8 cases.
Sexual Assault Was Charged in 17 Cases
24 of the 35 cases charged at least one article besides assault. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 17 cases. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 4 each. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) appeared in 3, and Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 2.
When assault is charged with sexual assault, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. A sentence covers every charge in the case, so the sentence figures below describe whole cases. The records do not divide a sentence among charges. Many of these cases also included a sexual assault charge, which matters when comparing them with assault cases elsewhere.
Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial
There were 26 general courts-martial and 9 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 74%, higher than the 60% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can adjudge no more than one year of confinement and no dishonorable discharge. Every sentence longer than one year in this group came from a general court-martial.
What Sentences Followed a Conviction?
24 of 28 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 8 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 2.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They are the sentences announced at trial, and each covers every charge in the case.
Sentences longer than one year were slightly less common than service-wide: 8 of 28 convictions (29%), compared with 33%. Convictions with no confinement were slightly more common: 14% compared with 10%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2013–2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 14% | 10% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 32% | 34% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 25% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 18% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 11% | 13% |
Punitive Discharges
14 of 24 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 7 bad-conduct discharges and 7 dishonorable discharges. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, the share was 63%. 2 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 1 was sentenced to dismissal. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not include administrative separations.
Rank of the Accused
The accused were 14 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 16 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. There were more NCOs than junior enlisted members. This group is more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, where 55% of the accused were junior enlisted.
Before the 2019 Changes
All of these trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to the cases here.
What the Records Do Not Show
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so the plea counts here use only the records that list one. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Assaults handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
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 Washington, D.C. in 2013–2018 that charged Article 128 (35 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 128 in those years.
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
- Washington, D.C.: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2013–2018? 76 Courts-Martial
- What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2019–2023? 41 Courts-Martial
- Washington, D.C., 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025
- 28 Assault Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026: What the Records Show
- 31 Assault Courts-Martial at Mayport, Florida, 2013–2018: What the Records Show
- 38 Assault Courts-Martial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2013–2018: What the Records Show
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.