Courts-Martial in Hawaii: How the Services Compare, 2016–2025
The records hold 431 courts-martial tried in Hawaii from 2016–2025, and 248 of them were Navy and Marine Corps cases.
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Short answer: The records hold 431 courts-martial tried in Hawaii from 2016–2025, and 248 of them were Navy and Marine Corps cases. 35 of 111 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (32%), lower than the 40% across all courts-martial in those years, and Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 16% of cases, against 7%.
Fewer Full Acquittals in Contested Cases
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, through a not-guilty or mixed plea. 111 contested Hawaii cases reached a verdict. 35 of them ended with the accused acquitted of all charges (32%). Across all courts-martial in those years, the full-acquittal rate was 40%.
38 more cases ended in a partial acquittal. In those cases, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
Attempt Charges Were More Common
401 of the 431 records list the charges, and one case can appear under several articles. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 65 cases (16%), compared with 7% across all courts-martial in those years.
Most other charges appeared at close to the rates seen elsewhere. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 107 cases (27%), against 25%. Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged in 22%, against 24%. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 10%, against 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all courts-martial in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 107 | 27% | 25% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 90 | 22% | 24% |
| Art. 134 General article | 83 | 21% | 20% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 65 | 16% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 62 | 15% | 16% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 61 | 15% | 15% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 39 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence, numbered since 2019 | 35 | 9% | 8% |
Punitive Discharges After Conviction
A punitive discharge followed 71% of enlisted convictions in Hawaii, compared with 63% across all courts-martial in those years. Those discharges were 149 bad-conduct discharges and 98 dishonorable discharges.
20 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in the Hawaii records, and 4 were dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Services and Installations
The Navy and Marine Corps account for 248 of the 431 cases, the Army for 111, and the Air Force for 72.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had the most cases (150), followed by Wheeler Army Airfield (111). The records list Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with 98 cases and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, with 72. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
By year, the count was 21 in 2016, 54 in 2017, 24 in 2018, 23 in 2019, 41 in 2020, 62 in 2021, 51 in 2022, 49 in 2023, 57 in 2024, and 49 in 2025.
| Service | Cases |
|---|---|
| Army | 111 |
| Air Force | 72 |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 248 |
Pleas by Charge
328 of the 431 records list the plea. 216 accused pleaded guilty and 112 contested at least one charge. The contested share, 34%, is the same as across all courts-martial in those years.
Cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea 82% of the time (41 of 50), the most among the top charges. Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 57% of the time (50 of 87). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
Confinement and Sentence Bands
374 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 327 of those sentences included confinement (87%). The median was 6 months, the same as across all courts-martial in those years. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.6 years or longer.
114 of the 374 convictions brought more than one year of confinement (30%), compared with 25%. 37 brought 5 years or more (10%), against 7%. 47 carried no confinement (13%), against 16%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all courts-martial in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 47 | 13% | 16% |
| Under 6 months | 136 | 36% | 40% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 77 | 21% | 19% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 77 | 21% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 37 | 10% | 7% |
Convictions on the Top Charges
Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article in 86 of 90 cases (96%), the highest rate among the top charges, with a median confinement of 5 months. Article 128 ended in a conviction in 92 of 107 cases (86%), the lowest rate, with a median of 9 months.
A conviction on Article 134 (the general article) brought a median of 1.6 years, and a conviction on Article 80 a median of 1.1 years. One case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 107 | 92 (86%) | 9 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 90 | 86 (96%) | 5 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 83 | 75 (90%) | 1.6 years |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 65 | 58 (89%) | 1.1 years |
Court Level and Rank
246 cases were general courts-martial and 185 were special courts-martial. The general share, 57%, compares with 54% across all courts-martial in those years. General courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years, and 39% were contested. Special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, had a median of 3 months, and 27% were contested.
Among the accused with rank recorded, 227 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 164 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 21 were officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than across all courts-martial in those years, where 60% were junior enlisted.
What the Records Leave Out
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Both depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. The records also do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial at installations in Hawaii with trial dates in 2016–2025 (431 cases), all services. Navy and Marine Corps plea and forum records are incomplete before 2021.
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
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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.