False Official Statement at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2018

Based on 53 cases · 2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Convictions Without Confinement

All 53 cases ended in a conviction, and confinement was part of 74% of them. That left 14 convictions, or 26%, with no confinement. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018, the share was 15%.

The median confinement was 6 months, lower than the overall median of 7 months. Fewer sentences were long. There were 6 convictions with more than 1 year and less than 5 years (11%, compared with 20%). There were 3 with 5 years or more (6%, compared with 9%).

The middle bands were about the same as the overall shares: 18 convictions under 6 months (34%) and 12 from 6 months to 1 year (23%). These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, handled 17 of the 53 cases, or 32%. Special courts-martial handled the other 36. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Sentences differed by level. General courts-martial here had a median confinement of 1.3 years. Special courts-martial had a median of 5 months. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year.

Changes Since 2017

The number of cases was about the same: 56 in 2017 and 53 in 2018. Other measures changed more. Convictions with confinement went from 88% to 74%. The median confinement went from 8 months to 6 months. The general court-martial share went from 48% to 32%.

The contested share among recorded pleas went from 30% to 21%. Enlisted punitive discharges went from 60% to 57%. In groups this size, a few cases can account for a change, so these show direction, not precise measures. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 1 of 7 in 2017 to 0 of 5 in 2018. Those numbers are too small to compare as rates.

Larceny Was the Most Common Additional Charge

Article 107 was the only charge in 7 of the 53 cases. Article 121 (larceny) was charged with it in 15 cases. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 11, Article 128 (assault) in 10, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 8, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 7.

A sentence covers every conviction in the case. The confinement and discharge figures include these other charges as well as the false statement.

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of 47 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 23 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. That share, 57%, was lower than the 66% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2018.

Of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was sentenced to dismissal, the officer form of a punitive discharge. For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Many Records Do Not List the Plea

Only 24 of the 53 records list a plea, because Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit it. Of those, 19 were guilty pleas and 5 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 21%, compared with 28% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018.

None of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. These counts are small and come from a partial record, so they describe only part of the year.

Rank and Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 55% of the accused, NCOs 37%, and officers 8%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018, the junior enlisted share was 61%.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 11 of these cases. Norfolk, Virginia tried 8, Okinawa, Japan 6, Camp Pendleton, California 5, and San Diego, California 4. Those 5 installations account for 64% of the 53 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

The Last Year Under the Old Rules

These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to these cases.

The records also do not include the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.