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# How Navy-Marine Corps General Article Cases Ended in 2024
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2024/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:16:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:23:21.000Z
- Description: The records show 84 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2024 charging Article 134 (general article), up from 68 in 2023. Only 20% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 34% across the service.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 134, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps, 2024

**Short answer:** The records show 84 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2024 charging Article 134 (general article), up from 68 in 2023\. Only 20% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 34% across the service. The median confinement was 1.3 years, compared with 5 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024.

Based on 84 cases · 2024 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges

Of enlisted convictions in these cases, 78% included a punitive discharge, compared with 58% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024\. Of those discharges, 38 were dishonorable and 22 were bad-conduct. A dishonorable discharge is more severe than a bad-conduct discharge, and only a general court-martial can impose it.

The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Median Confinement Was 1.3 Years

Of the 84 cases, 79 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those sentences, 68 included confinement (86%). The median confinement was 1.3 years, compared with a 5-month median for the service. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer.

Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 37 of 79 convictions (47%), compared with 22% service-wide. Of those, 25 (32%) were between 1 and 5 years and 12 (15%) were 5 years or more. The service shares were 15% and 7%. Only 11 convictions (14%) included no confinement, compared with 25%.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 11          | 14%        | 25%                                            |
| Under 6 months                  | 16          | 20%        | 38%                                            |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 15          | 19%        | 15%                                            |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 25          | 32%        | 15%                                            |
| 5 years or more                 | 12          | 15%        | 7%                                             |

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

Of the 84 cases, 58 were general courts-martial. That 69% share compares with 38% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024\. The other 26 were special courts-martial.

A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. The median confinement was 1.8 years at the general courts-martial here and 3 months at the special courts-martial. The contested share was 20% at both levels.

## Few of the Accused Contested the Charges

Of 81 records that list the plea, 65 were guilty pleas and 16 were contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 20%, lower than the 34% across the service.

Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal (19%). That is lower than the 27% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024\. None ended in a partial acquittal.

## Little Change From 2023

Cases increased, but most other figures were about the same. The contested share went from 21% to 20%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 79% to 78%. The general court-martial share went from 72% to 69%. Median confinement fell from 1.5 years to 1.3 years, and convictions with confinement fell from 90% to 86%. Full acquittals went from 1 of 14 contested cases that reached a verdict to 3 of 16.

In groups this size, a few cases can change the figures. The changes show direction, not precision.

|                                     | 2023      | 2024      |
| ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- |
| Cases                               | 68        | 84        |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 21%       | 20%       |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 14   | 3 of 16   |
| Convictions with confinement        | 90%       | 86%       |
| Median confinement                  | 1.5 years | 1.3 years |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 79%       | 78%       |
| General courts-martial              | 72%       | 69%       |

## Other Charges and Rank

In 40 of the 84 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 128 (assault) was the most common, in 10 cases. Article 80 (attempt) and Article 82 (solicitation) appeared in 6 each, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 5 each. The records do not say which Article 134 offense each case involved.

Among the accused with a recorded rank, 57 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 25 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. That group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, where 58% were junior enlisted.

## Installations With the Most Cases

San Diego, California tried 15 cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 13, Okinawa, Japan and Camp Pendleton, California 7 each, and MCAS Miramar, California 5\. Together they account for 56% of the 84 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 in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, a military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both changes depend on the offense date, which the records do not include. The 2024 trials therefore include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these figures. They also do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 134 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2024 that charged Article 134 (84 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2023.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [General Article at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2023: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2023/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 134 Cases in 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2025/) (previous / next)
- [Is Navy-Marine Corps General Article Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 134, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-trend-2017-2025/) (the full trend)
- [General Article at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2017/)
- [General Article at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2018/)
- [General Article at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2022: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2022/)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps General Article Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-sent-2017-2025/)
- [Article 134 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [General Article at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2023: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2023/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Article 134 Cases in 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-2025/) →

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.