What Was Tried at Groton, Connecticut, 2013–2017? 26 Courts-Martial
Groton, Connecticut tried 26 courts-martial from 2013 to 2017. 91% of its convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 63% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 38% of cases, compared with 13% service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Groton, Connecticut › 2013–2017
Short answer: Groton, Connecticut tried 26 courts-martial from 2013 to 2017. 91% of its convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 63% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 38% of cases, compared with 13% service-wide.
Punitive Discharges in 20 of 22 Enlisted Convictions
Of 22 convicted enlisted members, 20 received a punitive discharge, meaning a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge: 12 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. In all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years, the share was 63%.
There were also 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and neither was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
The General Article Was the Most Common Charge
Every case has a charge list, and a case with several articles appears under each. Article 134 was charged in 10 of the 26 cases (38%), compared with 13% Navy and Marine Corps-wide. Article 121 (larceny) was also charged more often than the service rate: 19% compared with 13%.
Some sexual offense charges were also more common. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 15% of cases, compared with 7%. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) was charged in 12%, compared with 4%. Assault was less common: Article 128 (assault) was charged in 19% of cases, compared with 38% service-wide. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 19%, compared with 23%. Drug offenses (Article 112a, wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) were charged in 15%, lower than 22% across the service.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 38% | 13% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 19% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 19% | 38% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 19% | 13% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 15% | 22% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 15% | 7% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 12% | 13% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 3 | 12% | 4% |
Longer Sentences Than the Service Median
Of 24 convictions, 20 included confinement. The median was 10 months, longer than 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. A quarter of those sentences were 2.5 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, the terms announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case, not a single article.
Fewer Short Terms, More Long Ones
9 of 24 convictions (38%) included more than one year, compared with 25% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. 7 convictions (29%) included more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 17% elsewhere.
Short sentences were less common. 25% of convictions included under 6 months, compared with 41% service-wide. 4 convictions (17%) included no confinement, compared with 11%. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 17% | 11% |
| Under 6 months | 6 | 25% | 41% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 21% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 29% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 8% | 8% |
Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial
Of the 26 cases, 17 were general courts-martial (65%), compared with 43% in 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.
Pleas and Contested Cases
A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. At Groton, 20 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 23%, compared with 30% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. 2 of the 6 contested cases ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty on every charge. With so few contested cases, a single verdict changes that count by a large amount.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so plea counts rely on the records that list them.
Rank of the Accused
The accused included 11 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 13 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, where 54% of the accused were junior enlisted.
Kaneohe Bay and Great Lakes
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 24 cases in these years and Great Lakes, Illinois 29. Kaneohe Bay had a median confinement of 1 year and an 83% punitive discharge share. Great Lakes had a median of 6 months, a 54% punitive discharge share, and a 29% contested share. 4 of its 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Groton had the highest punitive discharge share of the three, at 91%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton, Connecticut | 26 | 23% | 2 of 6 | 10 months | 91% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 24 | — | — | 1 year | 83% |
| Great Lakes, Illinois | 29 | 29% | 4 of 8 | 6 months | 54% |
Caseload and Gaps
The cases are from February 2013 to July 2017: 9 in 2013, 7 in 2014, 5 in 2015, 3 in 2016, and 2 in 2017. Together they are 2% of the 1,564 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.
Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They omit the evidence, the plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Groton, Connecticut with a trial date in 2013–2017 (26 cases), compared with all 1,564 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
- Groton, Connecticut: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 11 Courts-Martial at Groton, Connecticut, 2019–2023 (another period)
- 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
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 283 Cases Show
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 140 Cases
- Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases
- 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.