Jacksonville, Florida, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
Jacksonville, Florida tried 40 courts-martial from 2024–2026, and 63% of them were contested. That is higher than the 41% in 2019–2023 and the 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 16 of 31 to 4 of 24.
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Trends › By Installation › Jacksonville, Florida › Before and after 2024
Short answer: Jacksonville, Florida tried 40 courts-martial from 2024–2026, and 63% of them were contested. That is higher than the 41% in 2019–2023 and the 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 16 of 31 to 4 of 24. 39% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 52% across the service.
Most Cases Were Contested
The plea is listed in 38 of the 40 records. 24 of those cases were contested, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. 14 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 63%, compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
In 2019–2023 the contested share was 41%.
Fewer Full Acquittals Than in 2019–2023
Of the 24 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 17%, is lower than the 26% across the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2019–2023, the same measure was 16 of 31.
Another 10 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
2019–2023 Compared With 2024–2026
The earlier period had 77 cases over 5 years, about 15 a year. Since 2024 there have been about 16 a year, counting full years only. The median confinement went from 4 months to 5 months. Convictions with any confinement went from 84% to 71%.
Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were about the same: 40% before and 39% after. General courts-martial went from 47% of cases to 45%. A few cases can change any of these percentages, so they show direction, not precision.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 77 | 40 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 41% | 63% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 16 of 31 | 4 of 24 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 71% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 40% | 39% |
| General courts-martial | 47% | 45% |
Most Sentences Were Short, but Some Were Long
Confinement was part of 71% of the 35 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months across the service. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or more. 5 convictions (14%) included 5 years or more, compared with 7% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
8 of 35 convictions (23%) included more than one year of confinement, about the same as the 20% across the service. 10 convictions (29%) included no confinement. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 10 | 29% | 30% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 40% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 9% | 14% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 9% | 13% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 14% | 7% |
The General Article and Domestic Violence
All 40 records list charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 134, the general article, was the most common charge, in 28% of cases, compared with 21% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 20% of cases, compared with 12%.
3 less common charges were also charged more often than across the service: Article 80 (attempts) in 12% of cases compared with 7%, Article 131b (obstructing justice) in 10% compared with 5%, and Article 119b (child endangerment) in 8% compared with 2%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 28% | 21% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 8 | 20% | 12% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 7 | 18% | 19% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 4 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 119b Child endangerment | 3 | 8% | 2% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 5% | 6% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 5% | 5% |
Results for the Most Common Charges
All 11 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article, and the median confinement after a conviction on it was 3 years. Article 128b ended in a conviction in 7 of 8 cases, and the median confinement was 54 days. A case can include 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. 134 General article | 11 | 11 (100%) | 3 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 54 days |
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than Across the Service
A punitive discharge was part of 39% of enlisted convictions: 7 bad-conduct and 5 dishonorable. Across the Navy and Marine Corps the share was 52%. 1 officer or warrant officer was convicted, and none was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later, which these records do not track.
Court Level and Rank
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge; a special court-martial cannot exceed one year or impose a dishonorable discharge. Jacksonville had 18 general courts-martial (45%, compared with 38% across the service). Their median confinement was 3 years, and 72% were contested. Its 22 special courts-martial had a median confinement of 2 months, and 55% were contested.
The accused included 12 junior enlisted members, 24 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more senior than across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Compared With Miramar and Great Lakes
MCAS Miramar, California (39 cases) and Great Lakes, Illinois (31 cases) tried a similar number in these years. Jacksonville had the highest contested share of the 3: 63%, compared with 44% and 30%. It had the lowest punitive-discharge share: 39%, compared with 53% and 56%. Its median confinement of 5 months was between Great Lakes at 4 months and Miramar at 6 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville, Florida | 40 | 63% | 4 of 24 | 5 months | 39% |
| MCAS Miramar, California | 39 | 44% | 2 of 17 | 6 months | 53% |
| Great Lakes, Illinois | 31 | 30% | 3 of 9 | 4 months | 56% |
Timing, Rules, and Limits
The data holds 14 cases in 2024, 17 in 2025, and 9 in 2026 through July, a partial year. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide 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. The records do not give offense dates. They cannot separate old-rule and new-rule cases or show whether the changes affected these numbers.
The evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, and administrative separations are not part of these records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Jacksonville, Florida in 2019–2023 (77) and 2024–2026 (40).
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
- Jacksonville, Florida: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Jacksonville, Florida, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 78 Cases
- What Was Tried at Jacksonville, Florida, 2019–2023? 77 Courts-Martial
- What Was Tried at Jacksonville, Florida, 2024–2026? 40 Courts-Martial
- Jacksonville, Florida, 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Jacksonville, Florida, 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.