How Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Cases Ended in 2018

Trends › By Offense › Article 131b › Navy-Marine Corps, 2018

Based on 26 cases · 2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Obstruction Was Almost Always Charged With Other Offenses

Only 1 of the 26 cases charged Article 131b alone. The other cases also charged other articles. The most common was Article 81 (conspiracy), in 13 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 8, Article 92 (orders violation) in 7, Article 121 (larceny) in 6, and Article 134 (general article) in 5.

A sentence covers every charge in a case. The confinement and discharge figures here therefore reflect all of the charges, not obstruction alone. The records do not divide a sentence among its charges.

Obstruction has been numbered Article 131b since 2019. These 2018 trials took place before that number existed, when the conduct was charged under the older numbering. They are grouped here under the current number.

Median Confinement Was Longer Than Service-Wide

Of 23 convictions, 21 included confinement. The median confinement was 1 year, longer than the 7-month median for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018. Only 2 convictions (9%) included no confinement, compared with 15% across the service.

These are adjudged sentences: the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Many Sentences Were Longer Than 1 Year

Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 9 of 23 convictions (39%). The share for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018 was 30%. Of those 9, 6 were between 1 and 5 years and 3 were 5 years or more.

Sentences under 6 months made up 9 convictions (39%). Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 3 convictions (13%), lower than the 23% service-wide. Most sentences here were either under 6 months or longer than 1 year.

Sentences by Court Level

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement. It can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Of the 26 cases, 11 were general courts-martial and 15 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 42%, compared with 45% across the service. At general courts-martial, 100% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2.2 years. At special courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 4 months.

Most Convicted Enlisted Members Received a Punitive Discharge

Of enlisted convictions, 71% included a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018, the share was 66%.

The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Administrative separation happens outside the court-martial and is not recorded here.

Pleas in the Records That List Them

Only 13 of the 26 records list the plea. Among those, 9 accused pleaded guilty and 4 entered not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 31%, compared with 28% for the service.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so this figure is based on only 13 records. A change in a few pleas would change the share noticeably. The figure is a rough guide, not a firm measure.

Rank and Installations

By rank, the accused included 11 junior enlisted members, 12 NCOs, and 1 officer. That group was more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018.

San Diego, California and Camp Pendleton, California each tried 4 cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia tried 3 each, and Bremerton, Washington tried 2. Together they account for 62% of the 26 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Before the 2019 Law Changes

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 limited to six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to these cases.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.

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

Compare: federal court. Obstruction of Justice and Perjury: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences

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.