What Changed at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina After 2024? 34 Cases vs. 23
MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23 courts-martial from February 2024 through July 2026, compared with 34 in 2019–2023. In the later period, 52% of cases with a plea listed were contested, compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
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Trends › By Installation › MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina › Before and after 2024
Short answer: MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23 courts-martial from February 2024 through July 2026, compared with 34 in 2019–2023. In the later period, 52% of cases with a plea listed were contested, compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement went from 1 year to 4 months.
More Contested Cases Than Guilty Pleas
At MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, there were more contested cases than guilty pleas in 2024–2026. Of the 21 cases with a plea listed, 11 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The other 10 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 52%, compared with 36% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
The contested share was also high in the earlier period. In 2019–2023, it was 41%.
2019–2023 Compared With 2024–2026
This post compares 2019–2023 with 2024–2026. The detailed figures describe the 23 later cases. The earlier period had 34 cases over the 5 years with cases on record, about 7 a year. The later period had about 10 a year, counting full years only. There were 13 cases in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year.
The median confinement went from 1 year to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 57% to 72%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 54% to 50%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 0 of 7 to 3 of 11. In groups this small, a few cases can change these figures, so the changes show direction, not precision.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 34 | 23 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 41% | 52% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 7 | 3 of 11 |
| Convictions with confinement | 57% | 72% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 54% | 50% |
| General courts-martial | 44% | 39% |
How the Contested Cases Ended
Of 11 contested cases with a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal (27%). That is about the same as the 26% across the whole Navy and Marine Corps. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal (45%): not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another.
A Short Median and Some Long Sentences
Confinement was part of 72% of the 18 convictions. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 4 years or longer. With only 18 convictions, the median and the upper quarter each depend on a small number of sentences.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge followed 50% of enlisted convictions: 4 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 52%. The records include 1 convicted officer, who was not sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Larceny and False Statement Charges
The charge lists cover 21 of the 23 cases. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 19% of them, compared with 7% Navy and Marine Corps-wide. Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 14%, compared with 5%. Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit or debit cards) appeared in 10%, compared with 1%. One case can appear under several articles.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 24% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 19% | 7% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 19% | 12% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 19% | 15% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 14% | 5% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 14% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 121a Fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards | 2 | 10% | 1% |
Court Level and Rank
General courts-martial were 39% of the cases (9 of 23), compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 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.
The accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 1 officer. That mix is similar to the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
Compared With Similar Installations
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and Washington, D.C. tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Cherry Point had the highest contested share of the 3: 52%, compared with 17% at Pearl Harbor and 33% at Washington, D.C. Its punitive discharge rate, 50%, was also higher than Pearl Harbor's 42% and Washington, D.C.'s 21%. Its median confinement, 4 months, was the same as Pearl Harbor's.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina | 23 | 52% | 3 of 11 | 4 months | 50% |
| Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | 25 | 17% | 0 of 4 | 4 months | 42% |
| Washington, D.C. | 21 | 33% | 2 of 7 | 3 months | 21% |
Rules and Limits
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these trials include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether the changes above are connected to the new rules.
The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina in 2019–2023 (34) and 2024–2026 (23).
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
- MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2019–2023? 34 Courts-Martial
- MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 23 Cases Show
- Inside 13 Courts-Martial at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2017–2018
- What Changed at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina After 2019? 13 Cases vs. 34
- 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 MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 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.