> ## 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. # When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to General Article - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-plea-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:20.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T08:24:59.000Z - Description: Guilty pleas that included Article 134 (the general article) had longer sentences than Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas as a whole. In 358 such cases from 2017–2025, the median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months. - 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/) › When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Gui **Short answer:** Guilty pleas that included Article 134 (the general article) had longer sentences than Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas as a whole. In 358 such cases from 2017–2025, the median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months. Of convicted enlisted members, 75% received a punitive discharge, compared with 60%. Based on 358 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Which Cases Are Counted Every case here is a Navy or Marine Corps court-martial in which the accused pleaded guilty and the charges included Article 134\. The records show 358 such cases between February 2017 and December 2025\. All ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The comparison group is all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in the same years. The yearly count was 24 in 2017, 26 in 2018, 14 in 2019, and 11 in 2020\. It was 74 in 2021, 46 in 2022, 54 in 2023, 65 in 2024, and 44 in 2025\. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. This post counts only records that list a guilty plea, so the earlier years are based on incomplete records. ## Median Confinement Was 1.5 Years Confinement was part of 89% of the 358 sentences. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months in Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas generally. A quarter of the sentences were 3 years or longer. Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 184 of 358 convictions (51%), compared with 21% in all guilty pleas. Sentences between 1 and 5 years made up 38% of convictions here, compared with 16%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 13%, compared with 5%. Sentences under 6 months made up 19% here. Among guilty pleas generally, they were the most common range, at 40%. These are adjudged sentences: the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 39 | 11% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 69 | 19% | 40% | | 6 months to 1 year | 66 | 18% | 24% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 136 | 38% | 16% | | 5 years or more | 48 | 13% | 5% | ## Other Charges in These Cases Article 134 was the only charge in 157 of the 358 cases. When other articles were charged, the most common were Article 80 (attempt) and Article 120b (child sexual abuse), in 44 cases each. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 37, Article 92 (orders violation) in 35, and Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) in 23. A sentence covers the whole case. The long sentences in this post therefore include punishment for those other charges as well as the Article 134 charge. The records do not divide a sentence by charge. ## Most of These Pleas Were at General Courts-Martial Of the 358 cases, 246 were general courts-martial and 112 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 69%, compared with 37% in all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. The median confinement was 2 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. ## More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges Of enlisted convictions, 75% included a punitive discharge, compared with 60% across Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. Of those discharges, 136 were dishonorable and 116 were bad-conduct. Of 17 convicted officers or warrant officers, 10 were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## A Slightly More Senior Group Junior enlisted members made up 62% of the accused, NCOs 34%, and officers 5%. In all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas, junior enlisted members were 65%. This group was slightly more senior. ## Where the Cases Were Tried Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had the most of these cases (47). San Diego, California had 40, Norfolk, Virginia 35, Camp Pendleton, California 35, and Bremerton, Washington 28\. Together they account for 52% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show anything about a base. ## Law Changes During the Period The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It brought written plea agreements, fixed panel sizes, and judge-alone special courts-martial limited to six months with no punitive discharge. Cases with offenses before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the judge sentences within new sentencing parameters. Those later rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not include. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether any change affected these sentences. ## What the Records Do Not Show Only cases tried by court-martial are included. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases closed with no action are not included. The records also do not include the evidence or the plea terms. 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 pleaded guilty to charges including Article 134 (general article) (358 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas 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) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (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/) - [Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 134 Cases: What Happened at Trial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-acq-2017-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Army General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-plea-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Guilty Pleas in Air Force General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-134-plea-2016-2025/) (another service) - [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.