> ## 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. # Attempt at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2021: The Year in Numbers - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2021/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:17:47.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:11:53.000Z - Description: Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in 2021 included 54 cases charging Article 80 (attempt), and most ended with a guilty plea. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 7 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 80, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 80](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-80-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps, 2021 **Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in 2021 included 54 cases charging Article 80 (attempt), and most ended with a guilty plea. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 7 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of convicted enlisted members, 76% received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% across the service. Based on 54 cases · 2021 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Most Accused Pleaded Guilty Plea information is nearly complete for this year: 53 of the 54 records list one. Of those, 41 accused pleaded guilty and 12 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. A case with a not-guilty or mixed plea is a contested case. The contested share, 23%, was lower than the 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021\. Attempt cases were contested less often than cases across the service that year. ## How Contested Cases Ended All 12 contested cases reached a verdict. Of those, 2 ended in a full acquittal (17%). Another 2 ended in a partial acquittal (17%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. The full-acquittal rate was lower than the 26% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021\. The counts are small, so a single verdict would change the percentage. ## Median Confinement of 1 Year There were 52 convictions, and confinement was part of 92% of them. Half of those terms were 1 year or less, compared with a median of 7 months across the service. At the upper end, a quarter of the sentences were 1.7 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers all of the charges in a case. ## Sentence Lengths by Band The largest band was 6 months to 1 year, with 17 convictions (33%), compared with 26% across the service. Confinement of more than one year followed 19 of the 52 convictions (37%), compared with 26% across the service. Of those, 14 (27%) were between 1 and 5 years, and 5 (10%) were 5 years or more. Shorter sentences were less common than across the service. Another 12 convictions (23%) were under 6 months, compared with 33%. Only 4 (8%) carried no confinement, compared with 15%. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 4 | 8% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 12 | 23% | 33% | | 6 months to 1 year | 17 | 33% | 26% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 14 | 27% | 21% | | 5 years or more | 5 | 10% | 5% | ## General and Special Courts-Martial A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Of these cases, 38 were general courts-martial (70%), higher than the 48% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2021\. The other 16 were special courts-martial. The median confinement was 1.2 years at the general level and 4 months at the special level. The contested shares were 24% for general courts-martial and 19% for special courts-martial. ## Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers Of 50 enlisted members convicted, 38 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (76%), and 15 of those were dishonorable. Across the service, the share was 64%. Both convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge, so all 15 dishonorable discharges here came from general courts-martial. The other punitive discharges were bad-conduct discharges, which either court level can adjudge. ## Who Faced These Charges The accused included 35 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 17 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. Junior enlisted members made up 69% of all Navy and Marine Corps accused in 2021, so this group was more senior. Article 80 was the only charge in 7 cases. Other charges included Article 134 (general article) in 19 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 14, Article 112a (drug) in 11, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 8, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 8. ## Changes From 2020 The number of cases went from 40 to 54\. The contested share went from 32% to 23%, and full acquittals went from 0 of 7 to 2 of 12\. Median confinement went from 1.3 years to 1 year, and punitive discharges went from 79% to 76%. Convictions with confinement stayed at 92%, and the general court-martial share stayed at 70%. In small groups a few cases can change each figure, so these show direction only. San Diego, California and Bremerton, Washington each tried 7 of the cases. Mayport, Florida tried 6, and Camp Pendleton, California and Norfolk, Virginia tried 5 each. Together these five account for 56% of the cases. Large installations try more of every kind of case. | | 2020 | 2021 | | ----------------------------------- | --------- | ------- | | Cases | 40 | 54 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 32% | 23% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 7 | 2 of 12 | | Convictions with confinement | 92% | 92% | | Median confinement | 1.3 years | 1 year | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 79% | 76% | | General courts-martial | 70% | 70% | ## What the Records Do Not Show Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. They give trial dates, not offense dates. A case tried in 2021 may involve conduct from an earlier year. The data also do not show why an accused pleaded guilty or contested, or what any plea agreement offered. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 80 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?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 2021 that charged Article 80 (54 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2020. 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 80 (Attempts): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-80-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Attempt Cases Ended in 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2020/) (previous / next) - [Navy-Marine Corps Article 80 Cases in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2022/) (previous / next) - [Fewer or More? Attempt Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-trend-2017-2025/) (the full trend) - [Attempt at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2024/) - [Attempt at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2025/) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Attempt Cases Ended in 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2018/) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Attempt Cases Ended in 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2019/) - [Article 80 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [How Navy-Marine Corps Attempt Cases Ended in 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2020/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Article 80 Cases in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-2022/) → **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.