Article 134 With Article 92 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 134 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 92

Based on 55 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Convictions Carried No Confinement

Of 53 convictions, 19 carried no confinement (36%). For all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases in 2021–2026, the share with no confinement was 15%. Terms under 6 months made up 32% of convictions here, compared with 21%.

Long terms were less common. Sentences longer than one year came in 11 of 53 convictions (21%), compared with 47% across Article 134 cases. Terms of 5 years or more made up 4%, compared with 12%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 11%, compared with 17%.

Median Confinement of 6 Months

Confinement was part of 34 sentences, or 64% of convictions. The median term was 6 months. A quarter of the terms were 1.5 years or longer. The median for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases was 1.5 years.

These are adjudged sentences. They show what was announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common

Among 49 convicted enlisted members, 28 received a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge (57%). Of those, 8 were dishonorable. The rate across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases was 73%.

A punitive discharge means a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members, or a dismissal for officers. The group includes 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Results at Each Court Level

General courts-martial made up 45% of these cases (25 of 55). Special courts-martial made up the rest, 30 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.

At the general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.3 years and 38% of cases were contested. At the special courts-martial, the median was 3 months and 30% were contested.

Contested Cases and Acquittals

A plea is recorded in 54 of the 55 cases. There were 36 guilty pleas and 18 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. That puts the contested share at 33%, compared with 29% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases.

Of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal (6%). The full-acquittal rate for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases was 9%. Another 6 cases ended in a partial acquittal (33%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.

Who Was Charged, and With What Else

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 55% of the accused, NCOs were 43%, and officers were 2%. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases, junior enlisted members were 64%.

Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge beyond the pair, in 9 cases. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 8, and Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) in 6 each.

Trial Years and Installations

These cases were tried between January 2021 and June 2026. There were 19 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 5 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 3 in 2026. The 2026 count is for part of the year.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 11 cases and Camp Pendleton, California tried 9. Norfolk, Virginia tried 5, and Quantico, Virginia and Parris Island, South Carolina tried 4 each. These installations account for 60% of the 55 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone says little about any one base.

Law Changes and Missing Information

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, when every guilty finding is for such an offense, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so cases tried from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: 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.