Navy-Marine Corps Article 115 Cases in 2021

Trends › By Offense › Article 115 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2021

Based on 24 cases · 2021 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Nearly Every Sentence Included Confinement

Confinement was part of 23 of the 24 sentences (96%). Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021, 15% of convictions had no confinement. Here, 1 conviction (4%) had none.

The median confinement was 7 months, the same as the median for the whole service. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Sentence Length Bands

Sentences under 6 months made up 9 convictions (38%), and 6 months to 1 year made up 7 (29%). Sentences longer than one year came in 7 of 24 convictions (29%), more often than the 26% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of those, 5 were more than 1 year but under 5 years, and 2 were 5 years or more.

Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

Assault Appeared in Most of These Cases

Article 128 (assault) appeared in 19 of the 24 cases. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 9, Article 92 (orders violation) in 8, Article 131b (obstruction) in 6, and Article 112a (drug) in 4.

Because each sentence covers all charges, the confinement figures here include these other offenses.

Punitive Discharges

Of 23 convicted enlisted members, 17 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (74%), more often than the 64% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021. Of those, 2 were dishonorable discharges.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Guilty Pleas Were Common

Of the 24 accused, 16 pleaded guilty and 8 contested at least one charge. The contested share, 33%, was about the same as the 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021.

Junior Enlisted Members and Special Courts-Martial

Junior enlisted members made up 22 of the 24 accused. There was 1 NCO and 1 officer. The group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021.

General courts-martial heard 8 of the 24 cases (33%), lower than the 48% across the service. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Where the Trials Took Place

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had the most cases, with 6. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had 4. San Diego, California; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Pensacola, Florida, had 2 each. Together these 5 installations account for 67% of the 24 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so the counts say little about any single base.

Limits of the Data

The records cover trials from January 2021 through December 2021 that reached a courtroom. Threats handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in them. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 115 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.