How Has Article 129 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2021?

Trends › By Offense › Article 129 › Navy-Marine Corps

Based on 58 cases · 2021–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Cases Decreased Each Year

The yearly count of burglary and unlawful entry cases fell or stayed the same each year. The records show 17 in 2021, 15 in 2022, 10 in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. That is 58 trials between January 2021 and December 2025, or 3% of the 1,882 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.

Convictions also decreased, from 17 in 2021 to 5 in 2025. Article 129 was part of 31 of 707 convictions with offenses listed (4%) in 2021–2022. It was part of 14 of 657 (2%) in 2024–2025, a smaller share. Shares of convictions make years with larger or smaller caseloads comparable. The records do not show the reasons for the decrease.

Few Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 56 records that list a plea, 22 were contested and 34 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 39%, compared with 34% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

Of those 22 contested cases, 5% ended in a full acquittal. The rate across all Navy and Marine Corps cases was 25%. Another 8 were partial acquittals: the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.

Article 129 Was Rarely the Only Charge

Article 129 was the only charge in 5 of the 58 cases. The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault), in 23 cases, and Article 121 (larceny), in 16. Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 92 (orders violation) each appeared in 15, and Article 134 (the general article) in 10.

A sentence covers every charge in the case. When a case included sexual assault or assault charges, those charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures below.

Many Sentences Were Between 6 Months and 1 Year

Confinement was part of 82% of the 55 convictions. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.

Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 35% of convictions, compared with 21% Navy and Marine Corps-wide. Sentences under 6 months made up 25%, compared with 36%. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 12 of 55 convictions (22%), the same as the 22% overall. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

General and Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial tried 25 of the 58 cases (43%), compared with 42% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial tried 33 cases.

At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 2.2 years, and 57% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 6 months, and 27% of cases were contested.

Punitive Discharges Were More Common

Of 52 convicted enlisted members, 36 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%). That was more often than the 59% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of those discharges, 8 were dishonorable. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Rank and Installations

Among the accused with a recorded rank, 43 were junior enlisted and 11 were NCOs. No officers were charged. That group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 15 of the cases. Norfolk, Virginia tried 8, Camp Pendleton, California 7, Okinawa, Japan 5, and San Diego, California 3. Those five account for 66% of the 58 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a local problem.

Law Changes and the Limits of the Records

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 parameters. The records give only trial dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules.

The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Conduct resolved through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not included.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.