Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial With Article 86 and Article 92, 2021–2026

Trends › By Offense › Article 86 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 92

Based on 29 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

A High Share of Contested Cases

A plea is listed in 27 of the 29 records. Of those, 13 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 14 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

The contested share was 48%. For all Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases in 2021–2026, it was 31%. The records do not show plea negotiations, so they cannot show why an accused chose to plead or contest.

Partial Acquittals Were Common

Of the 13 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Full acquittals came in 8% of those 13 contested cases. That was lower than the 11% for Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases overall. With 13 contested cases, these rates come from a small group.

Short Confinement Terms

Confinement was part of 89% of the 28 convictions. The median term was 3 months, the same as the 3-month median for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases. A quarter of the terms were 6 months or longer.

These figures are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Confinement Bands

Terms under 6 months were the largest band, with 18 convictions (64%), compared with 59% across Article 86 cases. Only 3 convictions carried no confinement (11%), compared with 18%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 14% in both groups.

Sentences longer than one year came in 3 of 28 convictions (11%), about the same as the 9% for Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.

Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges

A punitive discharge followed 57% of enlisted convictions: 12 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases, the rate was 59%.

The cases include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial and Junior Enlisted

General courts-martial made up 17% of these cases (5 of 29). Special courts-martial tried the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Among the accused with rank recorded, 22 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 2 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. The mix was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases, where 80% were junior enlisted.

Drug Charges and Other Companion Charges

None of the 29 cases charged AWOL alone. Article 112a (drug) was charged in 11 of them. Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 6, Article 128 (assault) in 5, and Article 121 (larceny) in 4. Each sentence covers all of these charges together.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from April 2021 through August 2026. There were 4 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 6 in 2023, 9 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 2 in 2026, a partial year.

San Diego, California, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Twentynine Palms, California, and Great Lakes, Illinois tried 4 cases each. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 3. Together these five installations account for 66% of the 29 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not point to a problem at any one base.

Law Changes and Record Limits

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 give trial dates, not offense dates, so cases tried from 2024 on mix old and new 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 86 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.