Is Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 131b, 2017–2025

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

Based on 196 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sentences Were Longer Than Service-Wide

Of 190 convictions in cases charging obstruction, 162 included confinement. The median confinement was 10 months, longer than the 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1.9 years or longer.

Confinement longer than one year was more common here: 66 of 190 convictions (35%), compared with 25% service-wide. Sentences between 1 and 5 years made up 27% of convictions, compared with 18% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences under 6 months made up 25%, compared with 35%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 7%, the same as the service share.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in a case, and obstruction was rarely the only charge.

Obstruction Was Usually Charged With Other Offenses

Article 131b was the only charge in 16 of 196 cases. The most common other charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 64 cases, Article 128 (assault) and Article 112a (drug) in 44 each, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 43, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 40.

This matters when reading the sentence figures. The records do not divide a sentence among the charges in a case.

Few Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

The plea figures were close to the service figures. Of 140 records that list a plea, 97 were guilty pleas and 43 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 31%, compared with 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Verdicts were different. Of the 43 contested cases that reached a verdict, 12% ended in a full acquittal, lower than the 31% service-wide. Another 12 were partial acquittals: not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.

The Share of Convictions Over Time

There were 18 cases in 2017, 29 in 2019, and 28 in 2021. The count fell to 14 in 2024 and was 22 in 2025. In all, the 196 cases made up 5% of the 3,740 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in the records.

Total caseloads changed over the period, so the share of convictions is the more consistent measure. That share ranged from 4% to 8% by year, and was 8% in 2019 and 2020. Obstruction was part of 68 of 1,243 convictions in 2017–2019 and 50 of 940 in 2023–2025. Both are 5%.

Punitive Discharges

Of 177 convicted enlisted members, 135 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (76%). That was more often than the 62% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. Of those discharges, 38 were dishonorable. The records also show 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, and none was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separations.

General and Special Courts-Martial

There were 97 general courts-martial among the 196 cases (49%), compared with 43% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 1.7 years at general courts-martial and 5 months at the 99 special courts-martial. The contested share was 34% at general courts-martial and 28% at special courts-martial.

Rank of the Accused

Among records that list rank, the accused included 121 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 59 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 8 officers or warrant officers. That rank mix is similar to all Navy and Marine Corps cases, where 63% were junior enlisted.

Installations With the Most Cases

Camp Pendleton, California had 29 cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 28, San Diego, California 24, Norfolk, Virginia 23, and Bremerton, Washington 13. Together they account for 60% of the 196 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

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements. On December 28, 2023, prosecution decisions for covered offenses moved to special trial counsel. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so cases near each change may fall under either set of rules.

The records do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list one.

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.