How Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Cases Ended in 2021
All 28 convictions in 2021 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 131b (obstruction) included confinement. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 14 of them (50%), compared with 26% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 131b › Navy-Marine Corps, 2021
Short answer: All 28 convictions in 2021 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 131b (obstruction) included confinement. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 14 of them (50%), compared with 26% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A punitive discharge was imposed in 93% of enlisted convictions, compared with 64% service-wide.
Every Conviction Included Confinement
Confinement was part of 100% of the 28 convictions in this group. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021, 15% of convictions included no confinement. The median confinement here was 1 year, compared with 7 months service-wide.
These are adjudged sentences: the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. In 2021, every case here also charged other articles.
Half of the Sentences Were Longer Than 1 Year
Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 14 of 28 convictions (50%), compared with 26% across the service. Sentences between 1 and 5 years made up 12 convictions (43%), compared with 21% service-wide. Another 2 convictions (7%) included 5 years or more.
Shorter sentences were less common than service-wide. Sentences under 6 months made up 7 convictions (25%), compared with 33%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 7 convictions (25%), compared with 26%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 0 | 0% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 25% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 25% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 43% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 7% | 5% |
Almost Every Convicted Enlisted Member Received a Punitive Discharge
Of enlisted convictions, 93% included a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge: 15 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021, the share was 64%.
A dishonorable discharge is more severe than a bad-conduct discharge, and only a general court-martial can impose it. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not include administrative separations.
More General Courts-Martial Than Service-Wide
Of the 28 cases, 16 were general courts-martial (57%), compared with 48% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021. The other 12 were special courts-martial. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
The median confinement was 2 years at the general courts-martial and 5 months at the special courts-martial. The contested share was 38% at general courts-martial and 25% at special courts-martial.
Pleas and Verdicts
Every record lists the plea in 2021: 19 guilty pleas and 9 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 32%, the same as the 32% across the service.
None of the 9 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Each one ended with at least one conviction. A full acquittal is a not-guilty finding on every charge. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Sentencing then follows on the remaining guilty findings.
Changes From 2020
The 28 cases were tried from February 2021 through December 2021. There were 27 cases in 2020. Median confinement rose from 11 months to 1 year. Convictions with confinement rose from 96% to 100%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members rose from 76% to 93%.
The general court-martial share rose from 48% to 57%. The contested share was about the same, at 33% and 32%. In groups this small, a few outcomes can change these percentages. The changes show direction, not precision.
| 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 27 | 28 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 33% | 32% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 4 | 0 of 9 |
| Convictions with confinement | 96% | 100% |
| Median confinement | 11 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 76% | 93% |
| General courts-martial | 48% | 57% |
Other Charges in These Cases
No 2021 case charged obstruction alone. Article 134 (general article) and Article 81 (conspiracy) each appeared in 10 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 112a (drug) appeared in 8 each, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 7.
Because a sentence covers every charge, the sentences here include the punishment for those other charges.
Rank and Installations
By rank, the accused included 24 junior enlisted members and 3 NCOs. No officers were charged. That group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021. With no officers in the group, there were no dismissals, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 6 cases. Camp Pendleton, California, San Diego, California, Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. tried 3 each. Together they account for 64% of the 28 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What the Records Do Not Show
Only cases tried by court-martial are counted. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and allegations that led to no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2021 that charged Article 131b (28 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2020.
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.
Related Analysis
- Article 131b (Obstruction, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Obstruction at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2020: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Cases Ended in 2022 (previous / next)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 131b, 2017–2025 (the full trend)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Cases Ended in 2018
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 131b Cases in 2019
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 131b Cases in 2025
- How Much Confinement for an Article 131b Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.