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Understanding Trends

Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial With Article 129 and Article 134, 2021–2026

The Navy and Marine Corps records include 12 courts-martial from 2021–2026 that charged both Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) and Article 134 (general article).

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read

Trends › By Offense › Article 129 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 134

Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps records include 12 courts-martial from 2021–2026 that charged both Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) and Article 134 (general article). A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions, lower than the 66% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases. The contested share, 36%, was about the same as the 37% across those Article 129 cases.

Based on 12 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Discharges Lower Than for Article 129 Overall

60% of enlisted convictions in this group included a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. In Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 129 cases, the share was 66%.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Confinement in 7 Sentences

11 of the 12 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 7 of those sentences included confinement (64%).

The median confinement was 10 months. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases in 2021–2026, it was 8 months. Each figure is an adjudged sentence, meaning the sentence set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and it covers every charge in the case.

Special Courts-Martial Were More Common

The cases included 4 general courts-martial and 8 special courts-martial. The general share was 33%, compared with 42% in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 129 cases.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Pleas

11 of the 12 records list the plea. 7 accused pleaded guilty, and 4 contested at least one charge. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The 36% contested share compares with 37% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases overall.

Charges Besides Burglary

No case in this group charged Article 129 alone. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases, 9 of 66 did.

After Article 134, the most common charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 6 cases, Article 121 (larceny) in 4, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 4, and Article 128 (assault) in 3.

Rank of the Accused

Among the accused with rank recorded, 8 were junior enlisted members and 2 were NCOs. No officers appear. This mix is similar to all Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases in 2021–2026.

Cases per Year

Trials ran from January 2021 to September 2026. There were 6 in 2021, 1 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 0 in 2024, 2 in 2025, and 2 in 2026. The 2026 count covers part of the year.

Rule Changes and Gaps

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, 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, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records lack offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

How We Counted

Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with trial dates in 2021–2026 that charged both Article 129 and Article 134 (12 cases), compared with all 66 Navy and Marine Corps Article 129 cases in those years.

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.

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.

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