Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
Great Lakes, Illinois tried 31 courts-martial from 2024–2026, about 11 a year, compared with about 7 a year in 2019–2023. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 32% of cases, compared with 19% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
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Trends › By Installation › Great Lakes, Illinois › Before and after 2024
Short answer: Great Lakes, Illinois tried 31 courts-martial from 2024–2026, about 11 a year, compared with about 7 a year in 2019–2023. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 32% of cases, compared with 19% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months service-wide.
Orders and Absence Charges More Common
All 31 records list charges, and a case with several articles is counted under each. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 10 cases (32%), compared with 19% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 86 (AWOL) was charged in 16% of cases, compared with 5%. Article 107 (false official statements) was charged in 10%, compared with 5%.
Article 134, the general article, was charged less often than service-wide: 16% compared with 21%. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 19% of cases, compared with 15%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 32% | 19% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 19% | 15% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 16% | 21% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 5 | 16% | 5% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 10% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 6% | 5% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 6% | 7% |
More Cases Per Year Than 2019–2023
The earlier period had 34 cases over 5 years, about 7 a year. Since 2024 there have been about 11 a year, counting full years only. The contested share, meaning cases where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, went from 24% to 30%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 1 of 8 to 3 of 9.
Median confinement went from 5 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 76% to 68%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were about the same: 55% before and 56% after. General courts-martial went from 41% of cases to 29%. Groups this small can change with a single case, so these changes show direction, not precise rates.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 34 | 31 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 24% | 30% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 8 | 3 of 9 |
| Convictions with confinement | 76% | 68% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 55% | 56% |
| General courts-martial | 41% | 29% |
Many Convictions Without Confinement
Of 28 convictions, 19 included confinement. 9 (32%) included none, about the same as 30% service-wide. The median was 4 months. A quarter of those sentences were 6 months or longer. 12 convictions (43%) included under 6 months, compared with 35% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Long sentences were less common. 4 of 28 convictions (14%) included more than one year, compared with 20% service-wide. 2 of those (7%) included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 32% | 30% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 43% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 11% | 14% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 7% | 13% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 7% | 7% |
Punitive Discharges Compared With the Service
56% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 12 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. Across the Navy and Marine Corps the share was 52%. There was 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and 0 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these court records do not include.
Pleas and Verdicts
Plea records cover 30 of the 31 cases: 21 guilty pleas and 9 contested cases. The contested share was 30%, lower than 36% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
Of the 9 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty on every charge. In 2019–2023, the figure was 1 of 8. Both counts are too small to show a stable rate.
Mostly Junior Enlisted Accused
By rank, 26 accused were junior enlisted members, 4 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The group is more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. 9 of the 31 cases (29%) were general courts-martial, compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Pearl Harbor and Cherry Point
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (25 cases) and MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina (23 cases) tried a similar number in these years. All 3 installations had a median confinement of 4 months. Great Lakes had the highest punitive discharge share: 56%, compared with 42% and 50%. Its contested share was 30%, compared with Pearl Harbor's 17% and Cherry Point's 52%. 3 of 9 contested cases here ended in a full acquittal, compared with 0 of 4 and 3 of 11.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lakes, Illinois | 31 | 30% | 3 of 9 | 4 months | 56% |
| Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | 25 | 17% | 0 of 4 | 4 months | 42% |
| MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina | 23 | 52% | 3 of 11 | 4 months | 50% |
New Rules and Missing Details
The data has 8 cases in 2024, 14 in 2025, and 9 in 2026 through September, a partial year. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, rather than commanders, have decided whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Only trial dates appear in the records, so these cases include trials under both the old and new rules. The data cannot show whether the rules affected any result.
The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they omit nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Great Lakes, Illinois in 2019–2023 (34) and 2024–2026 (31).
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
- Great Lakes, Illinois: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Great Lakes, Illinois, 2013–2018? 37 Courts-Martial
- Great Lakes, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 34 Cases Show
- Great Lakes, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 31 Cases Show
- Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Great Lakes, Illinois, 2024–2026
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.
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.