> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Has Article 107 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-107-trend-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:04:00.000Z - Description: Navy and Marine Corps records show 306 courts-martial charging Article 107 (false official statement) from 2017 to 2025. The offense was part of 11% of convictions in 2017–2019 and 6% in 2023–2025. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 107, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 107](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps **Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps records show 306 courts-martial charging Article 107 (false official statement) from 2017 to 2025\. The offense was part of 11% of convictions in 2017–2019 and 6% in 2023–2025\. Only 6 of 70 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (9%), compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Based on 306 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## A Smaller Share of Convictions False official statement charges were more common in the first years. There were 56 cases in 2017 and 53 in 2018\. There were 32 in 2019, 44 in 2020, and 42 in 2021\. There were 19 in 2022, 19 in 2023, 18 in 2024, and 23 in 2025\. The 306 cases are 8% of the 3,740 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years. Convictions including Article 107 were highest in 2018, at 53\. In 2017–2019, the offense was part of 131 of 1,243 convictions with offenses listed (11%). In 2023–2025, it was part of 57 of 940 (6%), a smaller share. Measuring against convictions with offenses listed keeps the years comparable when the total number of cases changes. The records do not show why the share changed. | Year | Convictions incl. Art. 107 | All convictions with offenses listed | Share | | ---- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----- | | 2017 | 51 | 437 | 12% | | 2018 | 53 | 433 | 12% | | 2019 | 27 | 373 | 7% | | 2020 | 44 | 354 | 12% | | 2021 | 41 | 385 | 11% | | 2022 | 19 | 322 | 6% | | 2023 | 17 | 283 | 6% | | 2024 | 18 | 345 | 5% | | 2025 | 22 | 312 | 7% | ## Few Contested Cases Ended in Full Acquittal Of 70 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (9%). That is lower than the 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Another 16 (23%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 194 records that list a plea, 70 were contested and 124 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 36%, compared with 32% service-wide. Records from before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these counts use only records that include it. ## Usually 1 Charge Among Several Only 31 of the 306 cases charged Article 107 alone. The rest included other charges. The most common were Article 92 (orders violation) in 80 cases, Article 121 (larceny) in 66, Article 128 (assault) in 64, Article 112a (drug) in 58, and Article 134 (the general article) in 51. A sentence covers every charge in the case. The sentence figures below include larceny, assault, drug, and other charges as well as the false statement. Navy and Marine Corps convictions that included Article 107, by year: 2017 51, 2018 53, 2019 27, 2020 44, 2021 41, 2022 19, 2023 17, 2024 18, 2025 22512017532018272019442020412021192022172023182024222025 Navy and Marine Corps convictions that included Article 107, by year ## Sentences After Conviction Confinement was part of 77% of the 292 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as across both services. More convictions here included no confinement: 23%, compared with 18% service-wide. Sentences longer than one year were 58 of 292 convictions (20%), compared with 25% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences of 5 years or more were 4% of convictions here, compared with 7% overall. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 68 | 23% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 97 | 33% | 35% | | 6 months to 1 year | 69 | 24% | 22% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 46 | 16% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 12 | 4% | 7% | ## Sentences by Court Level A general court-martial can impose any lawful punishment, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Here, 116 cases were general courts-martial and 190 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share, 38%, was lower than the 43% across both services. At general courts-martial, 84% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. At special courts-martial, 72% did, with a median of 4 months. ## Punitive Discharge and Dismissal Of 268 convicted enlisted members, 159 received a punitive discharge: 128 bad-conduct and 31 dishonorable. The Navy and Marine Corps share overall was 62%. There were also 13 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 7 were sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Rank of the Accused The accused were 168 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 105 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 13 officers or warrant officers. Across both services, 63% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is more senior. ## Installations With the Most Cases Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had the most cases, 45\. Next were Camp Pendleton, California, with 34; Norfolk, Virginia, with 28; Quantico, Virginia, with 23; and San Diego, California, with 21\. Together they have 49% of the 306 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense. ## Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It introduced fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, judges sentence within new parameters. All of these rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. The records also do not show the evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 107 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025 that charged Article 107 (306 cases). The trend line uses convictions whose records list the offenses found, by trial year. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 107 (False Official Statements): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub) - [Army Article 107 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-107-trend-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Fewer or More? False Official Statement Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-107-trend-2016-2025/) (another service) - [Article 107 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Before and After 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-article-107-before-after-2019/) - [False Official Statement Cases at Camp Pendleton, California: 2017–2018 vs. 2019–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-article-107-before-after-2019/) - [Fewer or More? Attempt Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-trend-2017-2025/) - [Article 107 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-107-sent-2017-2025/) - [Article 107 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.