> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 134 Cases: What Happened at Trial
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-acq-2017-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:11:59.000Z
- Description: Of 139 contested Navy and Marine Corps cases with an Article 134 (general article) charge in 2017–2025, 12% ended in a full acquittal. The rate across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases was 31%.
- 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/) › Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Ar

**Short answer:** Of 139 contested Navy and Marine Corps cases with an Article 134 (general article) charge in 2017–2025, 12% ended in a full acquittal. The rate across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases was 31%. The median confinement after conviction was 1.1 years, longer than the 7 months in the comparison group.

Based on 139 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Most Contested Cases Ended in a Conviction

The Navy and Marine Corps records show 139 courts-martial from January 2017 to November 2025 in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge and the charges included Article 134\. A case with a not-guilty or mixed plea is a contested case. No accused in this group pleaded guilty to every charge.

Of those cases, 12% ended in a full acquittal, lower than the 31% for all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. Another 30 were partial acquittals: the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. In all, 122 cases ended in a conviction.

## Many Sentences Were Between 1 and 5 Years

Of 122 convictions, 92 included confinement. The median confinement was 1.1 years. Across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, the median was 7 months.

Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 47 of 122 convictions (39%), compared with 24% in the comparison group. Most of those were between 1 and 5 years: 34% of convictions, compared with 16%. Sentences of 5 years or more were less common: 5 sentences (4%), compared with 8%. No confinement was imposed in 25% of convictions, compared with 34%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 30          | 25%        | 34%                                                             |
| Under 6 months                  | 24          | 20%        | 28%                                                             |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 21          | 17%        | 14%                                                             |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 42          | 34%        | 16%                                                             |
| 5 years or more                 | 5           | 4%         | 8%                                                              |

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial tried 98 of the 139 cases, and special courts-martial tried 41\. The general court-martial share was 71%, compared with 53% across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. 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.

At general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.7 years. At special courts-martial, 57% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 4 months.

## Punitive Discharges

Of 111 convicted enlisted members, 75 received a punitive discharge: 45 bad-conduct discharges and 30 dishonorable discharges. Across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, the share was 50%.

Of 6 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were 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.

## Article 134 Was Often the Only Charge

Article 134 was the only charge in 51 of the 139 cases. When other articles were charged, the most common were Article 128 (assault) in 30, Article 92 (orders violation) in 18, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 17, Article 107 (false official statement) in 16, and Article 80 (attempt) in 15.

The records name the article but not the specific Article 134 offense charged. This group therefore includes many different kinds of conduct.

## Rank and Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, NCOs 37%, and officers 6%. Across contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, junior enlisted members were 49%.

San Diego, California and Norfolk, Virginia had 14 cases each. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 12, and Jacksonville, Florida and Bremerton, Washington had 11 each. Those five locations account for 45% of the 139 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## More Cases After 2020

The yearly counts from 2017 to 2020 were 7, 6, 8, and 3\. The count was 36 in 2021, 23 in 2022, 14 in 2023, 16 in 2024, and 26 in 2025.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Contested counts here use only the records that list one. The early figures therefore cover only part of the cases tried. The records cannot show the reasons for the later changes.

## 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, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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 tried 2017–2025: where the accused contested a charge under Article 134 (general article) (139 cases), compared with all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years.

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 Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub)
- [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/)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps General Article Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-sent-2017-2025/)
- [When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to General Article](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-plea-2017-2025/)
- [Fighting an Army General Article Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-acq-2021-2025/) (another service)
- [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps AWOL Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-86-acq-2017-2025/)
- [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-acq-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)

**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.