Great Lakes, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 34 Cases Show
Great Lakes, Illinois tried 34 courts-martial from 2019 to 2023. Drug offenses were charged in 33% of cases, compared with 25% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 55% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, lower than 63% in the rest of the service.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Great Lakes, Illinois › 2019–2023
Short answer: Great Lakes, Illinois tried 34 courts-martial from 2019 to 2023. Drug offenses were charged in 33% of cases, compared with 25% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 55% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, lower than 63% in the rest of the service. Junior enlisted members were 76% of the accused, compared with 64% service-wide.
Drug, Attempt, and Threat Charges More Common
Charges are listed in 33 of the 34 records, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) was the most common charge, in 11 cases (33%), compared with 25% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 18%, compared with 9%.
Several less common charges were also charged more often than the service rate. Article 115 (communicating threats) and Article 90 (willfully disobeying superior officer) were each charged in 12% of cases, compared with 3% service-wide. Article 86 (AWOL) was charged in 12%, compared with 5%. Article 128 (assault) was charged less often: 24% compared with 31%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 33% | 25% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 24% | 18% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 24% | 31% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 6 | 18% | 9% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 4 | 12% | 3% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 4 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 4 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 4 | 12% | 3% |
Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted
Junior enlisted members in grades E-1 to E-4 made up 76% of the accused, NCOs 21%, and officers 3%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 64% of the accused.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Of 31 convicted enlisted members, 17 received one (55%), compared with 63% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Only 3 of the 17 were dishonorable.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation, which these records do not track.
How Much Confinement?
Of 34 cases, 33 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 25 of those sentences included confinement (76%). The median was 5 months, about the same as 6 months Navy and Marine Corps-wide. A quarter of those sentences were 1.1 years or longer.
Few sentences were between 6 months and 1 year. 42% of convictions included under 6 months, and only 9% included 6 months to 1 year. In the rest of the service, those shares were 35% and 24%. 8 of 33 convictions (24%) included more than one year, the same as the 24% elsewhere. None included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 24% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 42% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 9% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 24% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% |
Results on the Top Charges
All 11 cases charging Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 5 months. All 8 Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) cases did too, also with a median of 5 months. 7 of 8 assault cases ended in a conviction, with a median of 10 months. One case can bring a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 11 (100%) | 5 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 5 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 10 months |
Pleas, Verdicts, and Court Level
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 33 records listing a plea, 25 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested. The contested share was 24%, compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 1 of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
General courts-martial handled 14 cases and special courts-martial 20. The general share was 41%, compared with 44% service-wide. At general courts-martial, 92% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.1 years. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. At that level, 65% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 2 months.
Cherry Point and Pearl Harbor
MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina tried 34 cases in these years and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 39. At Cherry Point, 41% of cases were contested, 0 of 7 contested cases ended in a full acquittal, the median confinement was 1 year, and the punitive discharge share was 54%. Pearl Harbor had the same 24% contested share as Great Lakes. 3 of its 9 contested cases ended in a full acquittal, the median was 9 months, and the punitive discharge share was 74%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lakes, Illinois | 34 | 24% | 1 of 8 | 5 months | 55% |
| MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina | 34 | 41% | 0 of 7 | 1 year | 54% |
| Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | 39 | 24% | 3 of 9 | 9 months | 74% |
Earlier Years at Great Lakes
In 2013–2018, Great Lakes had 37 cases, about 6 a year. Since then it has had about 7 a year in full years. This period had 1 case in 2019, 7 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 10 in 2022, and 8 in 2023. That is 2% of the 1,991 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.
Full acquittals went from 6 of 10 to 1 of 8. Median confinement went from 6 months to 5 months. Punitive discharges went from 60% to 55%. The general court-martial share went from 32% to 41%. Small groups change with a few cases, and older Navy and Marine Corps records often omit the plea. The records cannot show why any figure changed.
| 2013–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 37 | 34 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 28% | 24% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 10 | 1 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 81% | 76% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 60% | 55% |
| General courts-martial | 32% | 41% |
Limits of the Record
The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear in them.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Great Lakes, Illinois with a trial date in 2019–2023 (34 cases), compared with all 1,991 Navy and Marine Corps trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Great Lakes, Illinois, 2013–2018? 37 Courts-Martial (another period)
- Great Lakes, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 31 Cases Show (another period)
- What Was Tried at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2019–2023? 34 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 39 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Bremerton, Washington Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show
- Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 221 Cases
- Bremerton, Washington, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 153 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Great Lakes, Illinois, 2019–2023
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.