How Much Confinement for an Article 133 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?

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Based on 50 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Sentences Included No Confinement

This post covers Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial that ended in a conviction where Article 133 was among the charges. Of 50 convictions, 26 included no confinement (52%). Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, the share was 18%.

When confinement was imposed, it was longer than average. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months service-wide. A quarter of those sentences were 1.5 years or longer, and 1 sentence was confinement for life. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Sentence Ranges

Confinement longer than one year was less common than service-wide: 7 of 50 convictions (14%), compared with 25%. However, 5 cases (10%) had sentences of 5 years or more, compared with 7% across Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

Few sentences were in the middle ranges. Sentences under 6 months made up 16% of this group, compared with 35% service-wide. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 18%, compared with 22%. Sentences between 1 and 5 years made up only 4%, compared with 18%. Most of the long sentences here were 5 years or more.

Almost All Officers, and More Contested Cases

Officers made up 98% of the accused. NCOs made up 2%, and junior enlisted members 0%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, junior enlisted members were 65% of the accused.

Of the 40 records that list a plea, 20 were contested and 20 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 50%, compared with 24% across Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Partial Acquittals in Contested Cases

This post counts only convictions, so none of the 20 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Of those 20 cases, 8 (40%) were partial acquittals. The accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Other Charges in These Cases

Of the 50 cases, 44 charged at least one other article. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 92 (orders violation) each appeared in 13 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 9, Article 107 (false official statement) in 8, and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 5.

Each sentence covers the full case. Those other charges are therefore part of every confinement figure here.

Sentences by Court Level

General courts-martial tried 33 of the 50 cases (66%), compared with 41% across Navy and Marine Corps convictions. At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 10 months, and 54% of cases were contested. At the 17 special courts-martial, the median was 2 months, and 43% of cases were contested.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and dismissal of an officer. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Installations and Case Counts

Norfolk, Virginia had the most of these cases (10). Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 8, San Diego, California 4, Quantico, Virginia 4, and Camp Pendleton, California 3. Together they account for 58% of the 50 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

The cases were tried from April 2017 to November 2025. The yearly count was 5 in 2017, 7 in 2018, 7 in 2019, 6 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 3 in 2023, 4 in 2024, and 6 in 2025.

Law Changes During the Period

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not include.

What the Records Do Not Show

The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative action, or no action. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list one. This post also does not include a count of dismissals, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. It cannot say how many of these officers were dismissed.

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.