Bremerton, Washington in 2014: 47 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Bremerton, Washington tried 47 courts-martial in 2014. Most accused pleaded guilty. The contested share was 23%, compared with 33% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (50%), higher than the 42% across the service.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Bremerton, Washington › 2014
Short answer: Bremerton, Washington tried 47 courts-martial in 2014. Most accused pleaded guilty. The contested share was 23%, compared with 33% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (50%), higher than the 42% across the service.
Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea
Pleas are recorded for 44 of the 47 cases: 34 guilty pleas and 10 contested cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either alone or along with guilty pleas to other charges. The contested share was 23%, lower than the 33% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2014.
Contested cases were more common at general courts-martial. Of the 18 general courts-martial, 31% were contested. Of the 29 special courts-martial, 18% were contested.
Half of Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
All 10 contested cases reached a verdict. 5 of them ended in a full acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of every charge. That 50% rate compares with 42% across the Navy and Marine Corps. No contested case here ended in a partial acquittal (0%).
With only 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, the rate depends on a few outcomes. A single verdict either way would change it noticeably.
Fewer Sexual Assault Charges
Charges are listed for 44 of the 47 records, and each article counts once per case. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 41% of cases, about the same as the 40% across the service. Article 112a (drug) charges appeared in 18% of cases, compared with 16%. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 16%, compared with 13%.
Article 120 (sexual assault) was much less common, at 11% compared with 30% across the service. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) was more common, at 11% compared with 7%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 14% of cases, compared with 11%. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 9%, compared with 11%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 18 | 41% | 40% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 8 | 18% | 16% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 7 | 16% | 13% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 6 | 14% | 11% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 11% | 30% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 9% | 11% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 7% | 7% |
Results on Assault and Drug Charges
Every case charging Article 112a ended with a conviction on that article (8 of 8), with a median confinement of 2 months. Article 128 cases ended in 15 assault convictions out of 18 (83%), with a median confinement of 6 months. One case can include several articles, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 18 | 15 (83%) | 6 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 2 months |
Confinement in Nearly Every Conviction
Confinement was part of 95% of the 42 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 5 months in the rest of the service. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
Sentences longer than one year were 10 of 42 convictions (24%), about the same as the 26% across the service. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were more common here, at 26% compared with 16%. Only 2 convictions (5%) had no confinement, compared with 10% across the service. The median confinement was 2.7 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial, which are capped at one year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 2 | 5% | 10% |
| Under 6 months | 19 | 45% | 48% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 11 | 26% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 12% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 12% | 10% |
Punitive Discharges
Among 39 convicted enlisted members, 24 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (62%), about the same as the 59% in the rest of the service. Of those, 8 were dishonorable discharges, which only a general court-martial can impose. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation afterward.
Who Was Charged
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 60% of the accused. NCOs were 38%, and officers were 2%. In the rest of the service, junior enlisted members were 49%. General courts-martial were 38% of cases, compared with 46% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Norfolk and San Diego in 2014
Norfolk, Virginia (50 cases) and San Diego, California (56) tried a similar number of cases that year. Norfolk's contested share was 48%. Norfolk had 8 full acquittals in 24 contested cases that reached a verdict, and a median confinement of 10 months. San Diego's contested share was 20%, with 4 full acquittals in 11 and a median confinement of 3 months. Punitive discharge shares for enlisted members were 50% at Norfolk and 49% at San Diego.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bremerton, Washington | 47 | 23% | 5 of 10 | 6 months | 62% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 50 | 48% | 8 of 24 | 10 months | 50% |
| San Diego, California | 56 | 20% | 4 of 11 | 3 months | 49% |
Rules and Record Limits
All 47 cases were tried in 2014. These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements. Records from this period often omit the plea and forum, so plea figures use only the records that list them. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, evidence, and plea terms are not in the data.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Bremerton, Washington with a trial date in 2014 (47 cases).
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
- Bremerton, Washington: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015 (previous / next)
- Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 221 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.