> ## 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. # Fewer or More? Attempt Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-trend-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:16.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:04:02.000Z - Description: Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 80 (attempt) in 333 cases from 2017 to 2025. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of convicted enlisted members, 84% received a punitive discharge, compared with 62%. - 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 **Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 80 (attempt) in 333 cases from 2017 to 2025\. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of convicted enlisted members, 84% received a punitive discharge, compared with 62%. Based on 333 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Child Sexual Abuse Was the Most Common Other Charge An attempt charge is tied to some other offense. The other charges in each case show which offenses were most common. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) appeared in 112 of the 333 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 88, Article 134 (the general article) in 84, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 81, and Article 112a (drug) in 42\. Only 44 cases charged Article 80 by itself. Every sentence covers all the charges in its case. The confinement and discharge numbers below include these other offenses as well as the attempt. ## More Than a Year in Most Convictions Of 314 cases ending in a conviction on at least one charge, 286 included confinement (91%). The median confinement was 1.5 years, and a quarter of sentences were 3 years or longer. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the median was 6 months. Sentences longer than one year followed 172 of 314 convictions (55%), compared with 25% across the service. The band from more than 1 year to under 5 years had 39%, compared with 18%. The band of 5 years or more had 16%, compared with 7%. Only 9% of convictions carried no confinement, compared with 18%. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 28 | 9% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 44 | 14% | 35% | | 6 months to 1 year | 70 | 22% | 22% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 123 | 39% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 49 | 16% | 7% | ## General Courts-Martial Handled Most Cases A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge; a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. Of the 333 cases, 257 were general courts-martial (77%, compared with 43% across the Navy and Marine Corps). At general courts-martial, 93% of convictions brought confinement, with a median of 2 years. At the 76 special courts-martial, 84% of convictions brought confinement, with a median of 6 months. ## Discharges and Dismissals A punitive discharge followed 84% of enlisted convictions: 136 dishonorable discharges and 113 bad-conduct discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases, the rate was 62%. Of 12 convicted officers or warrant officers, 11 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Contested Cases and Their Outcomes Of the 237 records that list a plea, 164 were guilty pleas and 73 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share, 31%, is about the same as the 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Records from before December 2020 often omit the plea, so only those that list it are counted. Of the 73 contested cases that reached a verdict, 13 ended in a full acquittal (18%), compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Another 8 ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of some charges and guilty of others. ## Fewer Attempt Convictions Since 2022 There were 48 cases in 2017, 55 in 2018, 44 in 2019, 40 in 2020, and 54 in 2021\. There were 22 in 2022, 16 in 2023, and 27 in each of 2024 and 2025\. The 333 cases are 9% of the 3,740 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years. The most convictions including Article 80 in a single year was 54, in 2018\. In 2017–2019, the offense was part of 136 of 1,243 convictions with offenses listed (11%). In 2023–2025, it was part of 64 of 940 (7%), a smaller share. The records cannot show why the share was lower. | Year | Convictions incl. Art. 80 | All convictions with offenses listed | Share | | ---- | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----- | | 2017 | 41 | 437 | 9% | | 2018 | 54 | 433 | 12% | | 2019 | 41 | 373 | 11% | | 2020 | 40 | 354 | 11% | | 2021 | 52 | 385 | 14% | | 2022 | 22 | 322 | 7% | | 2023 | 15 | 283 | 5% | | 2024 | 26 | 345 | 8% | | 2025 | 23 | 312 | 7% | ## Rank and Installation Among the accused with rank recorded, 182 were junior enlisted, 129 were NCOs, and 13 were officers. The group is more senior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 39 cases. Okinawa, Japan had 33, San Diego, California 31, Norfolk, Virginia 28, and Camp Pendleton, California 25\. Those five installations account for 47% of the 333 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not show a problem at any single base. Navy and Marine Corps convictions that included Article 80, by year: 2017 41, 2018 54, 2019 41, 2020 40, 2021 52, 2022 22, 2023 15, 2024 26, 2025 23412017542018412019402020522021222022152023262024232025 Navy and Marine Corps convictions that included Article 80, by year ## Rule Changes and Limits The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months, and written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, judges sentence within new parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they do not show which rules applied in later cases. These records 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 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 tried 2017–2025 that charged Article 80 (333 cases). The trend line uses convictions whose records list the offenses found, by trial year. 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) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub) - [Army Article 80 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-80-trend-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Fewer or More? Attempt Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-80-trend-2016-2025/) (another service) - [Article 80 at San Diego, California Before and After 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/san-diego-california-article-80-before-after-2019/) - [Article 80 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Before and After 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-article-80-before-after-2019/) - [Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-trend-2017-2025/) - [Article 80 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-sent-2017-2025/) - [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) **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.