What Was Tried at Jacksonville, Florida, 2024–2026? 40 Courts-Martial
Jacksonville, Florida tried 40 courts-martial from January 2024 to July 2026, and 63% of them were contested. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 36% were contested. Full acquittals were less common here: 4 of 24 decided contested cases (17%), compared with 26% across the service.
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Trends › By Installation › Jacksonville, Florida › 2024–2026
Short answer: Jacksonville, Florida tried 40 courts-martial from January 2024 to July 2026, and 63% of them were contested. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 36% were contested. Full acquittals were less common here: 4 of 24 decided contested cases (17%), compared with 26% across the service. A punitive discharge was part of 39% of enlisted convictions, lower than the 52% across the service.
Most Cases Were Contested
Of the 38 records that list a plea, 24 were contested and 14 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share here, 63%, is higher than the 36% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
Few contested cases ended in a full acquittal. Of the 24 contested cases with a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (17%). 10 ended in a partial acquittal (42%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. The full-acquittal rate is lower than the 26% across the service.
More Contested Cases and Fewer Full Acquittals Than in 2019–2023
In 2019–2023, Jacksonville tried 77 cases, about 15 a year. Since then it has tried about 16 a year, counting full years only. The contested share went from 41% to 63%. Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 16 of 31 to 4 of 24.
Other measures changed less. The median confinement went from 4 months to 5 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted convictions went from 40% to 39%. General courts-martial went from 47% to 45% of cases. Convictions with confinement went from 84% to 71%. These changes came in the same period as the December 28, 2023 change to special trial counsel. The records cannot show whether one caused the other, and in small groups a few cases can change a percentage.
| 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% |
The General Article and Domestic Violence
All 40 records list charges. Article 134 (the general article) was the most common charge, in 11 cases (28%, compared with 21% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps). Article 128b (domestic violence) was next, in 8 cases (20%, compared with 12%). Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 7, about the same as the service share.
3 less common charges were also charged more often than across the service. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 12% of cases (7% across the service), Article 131b (obstructing justice) in 10% (5%), and Article 119b (child endangerment) in 8% (2%). A case with several articles appears in several rows.
| 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% |
Sentences for Article 134 and Article 128b Were Very Different
Every case charging Article 134 ended with a conviction on that article (11 of 11), and the median confinement for those convictions was 3 years. Article 128b ended in a conviction in 7 of 8 cases, and the median confinement was 54 days. A sentence covers every charge in a case, so these medians include other charges tried in the same case.
| 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 |
How Long Was the Confinement?
Confinement was part of 71% of the 35 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer.
Convictions with no confinement (29%) and with under 6 months (40%) were close to the service shares of 30% and 35%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year were less common: 9% compared with 14%. Sentences from more than 1 year to under 5 years were also less common: 9% compared with 13%. Sentences of 5 years or more were more common: 14% compared with 7%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
Discharges, Court Level, and Rank
A punitive discharge was part of 39% of enlisted convictions: 7 bad-conduct and 5 dishonorable discharges. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
General courts-martial made up 45% of cases (18 of 40), compared with 38% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. At that level, 75% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 3 years. At the 22 special courts-martial, 68% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2 months. The accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 24 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more senior than across the service.
Compared With Miramar and Great Lakes
MCAS Miramar, California (39 cases) and Great Lakes, Illinois (31) were similar in size. Jacksonville's contested share, 63%, was the highest of the 3 (44% and 30%). Full acquittals came in 4 of 24 decided contested cases here, 2 of 17 at Miramar, and 3 of 9 at Great Lakes. Jacksonville's punitive discharge rate, 39%, was the lowest (53% and 56%).
| 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% |
Limits of the Trial Records
The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so 2024–2026 trials mix cases under the old rules and the new sentencing parameters. They do not show evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial, and the 2026 count is a partial year.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Jacksonville, Florida with a trial date in 2024–2026 (40 cases), compared with all 1,013 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
- Jacksonville, Florida: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Jacksonville, Florida, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 78 Cases (another period)
- What Was Tried at Jacksonville, Florida, 2019–2023? 77 Courts-Martial (another period)
- What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024–2026? 39 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Great Lakes, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 31 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Article 128 at Jacksonville, Florida Before and After 2019
- Sexual Assault Cases at Jacksonville, Florida: 2013–2018 vs. 2020–2022
- 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.