Navy-Marine Corps Acquittals in 2025: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 128 contested courts-martial from 2025. 35 ended in a full acquittal (27%), close to the 25% for contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › Navy-Marine Corps 2025, contested
Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 128 contested courts-martial from 2025. 35 ended in a full acquittal (27%), close to the 25% for contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025. Among convicted enlisted members, 39% received a punitive discharge, less often than the 51% for the full period.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members, and a dismissal for officers. Among 82 enlisted members convicted in 2025, 32 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (39%). Across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025, the share was 51%.
10 of the 32 discharges were dishonorable. 5 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in the 2025 records, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
Confinement Was Shorter and Less Frequent
93 of the 128 contested cases ended in a conviction. 54 of those convictions carried confinement, and the median confinement was 4 months. The median for contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025 was 6 months. A quarter of the 2025 confinement terms were 1.1 years or longer.
39 convictions carried no confinement (42%), compared with 34% for the full period. 14 of 93 convictions brought more than one year of confinement (15%), against 23%. The band from more than 1 year to under 5 years held 8 convictions (9%), compared with 17%.
These are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 39 | 42% | 34% |
| Under 6 months | 31 | 33% | 29% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 10% | 14% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 9% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 6 | 6% | 6% |
Special Courts-Martial Made Up Most Cases
79 of the 2025 cases were special courts-martial and 49 were general courts-martial. The general share, 38%, compares with 48% for contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge; a special court-martial is capped at one year. The general courts-martial produced a median confinement of 1.8 years. The special courts-martial produced a median of 3 months.
Full Acquittals and Split Verdicts
In a contested case, the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either through a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. All 128 cases here reached a verdict, and 35 ended with the accused acquitted of all charges. That 27% rate is close to the 25% for 2021–2025.
Another 35 cases split the charges, with a not-guilty finding on at least one charge or specification and a guilty finding on another.
What Was Charged in 2025?
All 128 records list the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was the most common charge, in 34 cases (27%), compared with 23% for contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 13 cases (10%), compared with 19% for the full period. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 20%, against 26%. Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 8% of cases, against 5%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 34 | 27% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 26 | 20% | 26% |
| Art. 134 General article | 26 | 20% | 19% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 14 | 11% | 14% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 13 | 10% | 19% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 12 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 11 | 9% | 7% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 10 | 8% | 5% |
Charge-Level Results
Article 134 (the general article) had the highest conviction rate among the top charges: 22 of 26 cases ended in a conviction on that article (85%), with a median confinement of 9 months. Article 92 ended in a conviction in 28 of 34 cases (82%), with a median of 3 months.
Article 128 had the lowest rate: 16 of 26 cases (62%), with a median of 5 months. Article 112a (drug offenses) ended in a conviction in 9 of 14 cases (64%), with a median of 4 months. The rows overlap, because one case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 34 | 28 (82%) | 3 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 26 | 16 (62%) | 5 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 26 | 22 (85%) | 9 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 14 | 9 (64%) | 4 months |
Who Was Tried, and Where
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 53% of the accused, NCOs 41%, and officers 6%. Across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021–2025, junior enlisted members were 55%.
Camp Pendleton, California, had the most cases (19), followed by Quantico, Virginia (12), Jacksonville, Florida (11), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (10), and San Diego, California (10). These five account for 48% of the 128 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem.
Rule Changes and Record Limits
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. The records cannot show whether these changes had any effect on the 2025 figures.
The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not show cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2025, a not-guilty or mixed plea, and a result posted (128 cases), compared with all such cases in 2021–2025.
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
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Contested Navy-Marine Corps Cases in 2023: Verdicts and Sentences
- How Did Contested Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial End in 2022?
- Navy-Marine Corps Acquittals in 2021: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Navy-Marine Corps Acquittals in 2024: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Air Force Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Air Force Acquittals in 2024: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- Army Acquittals in 2022: How Many Contested Cases Ended Not Guilty?
- 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.