MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 23 Cases Show
MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23 courts-martial in these records from February 2024 to July 2026. Of cases with a recorded plea, 52% were contested, compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina › 2024–2026
Short answer: MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina had 23 courts-martial in these records from February 2024 to July 2026. Of cases with a recorded plea, 52% were contested, compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months service-wide.
Short Median Sentences and a Long Upper Quarter
Of the 23 cases, 18 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those 18 sentences, 13 included confinement (72%). The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months median service-wide.
The longest sentences were much longer than the median. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 4 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
Most Cases Were Contested
Plea information appears in 21 of the 23 records. Of those, 11 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 10 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share here was 52%, higher than the 36% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in the same years.
With this few cases, a small number of cases either way can change the percentages. The share shows a direction, not a fixed rate.
How the Contested Cases Ended
Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 27%, is about the same as the 26% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal, where the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
These counts are small. A few verdicts either way would change the rates noticeably.
Punitive Discharges After Conviction
Of 16 convicted enlisted members, 8 received a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. The share elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps was 52%, about the same.
The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and 0 were sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation.
What Was Charged
Charge lists appear for 21 of 23 cases. No single article appeared in most cases. Article 134 (general article) was the most common, in 24% of cases, compared with 21% service-wide. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 19% of cases, compared with 7%. False official statements under Article 107 appeared in 14%, compared with 5%. Article 121a, covering fraudulent use of credit and debit cards, appeared in 10% of cases, compared with 1% service-wide.
Each article counts once per case, and many cases include several articles, so the table rows overlap.
| 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
There were 9 general and 14 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share, 39%, is about the same as the 38% across the service. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge.
The accused were 12 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 7 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. That mix is similar to the service as a whole, where 59% were junior enlisted.
Compared With 2019–2023
The same installation had 34 cases in 2019–2023, about 7 a year. Since then, it has had about 10 a year. The contested share rose from 41% to 52%. Full acquittals went from 0 of 7 to 3 of 11.
The median confinement went from 1 year to 4 months. In the same periods, the share of convictions with confinement rose from 57% to 72%. Punitive discharge rates went from 54% to 50%.
| 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% |
Pearl Harbor and Washington, D.C.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (25 cases) and Washington, D.C. (21) tried a similar number of cases. The contested share was 17% at Pearl Harbor and 33% at Washington. Both were lower than at Cherry Point. Pearl Harbor had the same 4 months median confinement. Washington had a 3 months median and a 21% punitive discharge rate.
| 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% |
New Rules and Missing Details
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records do not give offense dates, so these cases include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether either change affected these figures.
There were 13 cases in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 3 in the partial year 2026. The records do not include the evidence, plea terms, or 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 MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina with a trial date in 2024–2026 (23 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
- MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 13 Courts-Martial at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2017–2018 (another period)
- What Was Tried at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, 2019–2023? 34 Courts-Martial (another period)
- What Was Tried at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2024–2026? 25 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Washington, D.C., 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 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 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.