How Has Article 89 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?

Trends › By Offense › Article 89 › Navy-Marine Corps

Based on 41 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

How Many Cases Each Year?

Disrespect charges were tried at a Navy or Marine Corps court-martial 41 times between March 2017 and December 2025. That is 1% of the 3,740 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial held in those years.

There were 7 cases in 2017, 7 in 2018, and 8 in 2019. There were 4 cases in 2020, 2 in each of 2021, 2022, and 2023, and 1 in 2024. In 2025 there were 8 cases, the same as the earlier high.

Share of Convictions Over Time

Raw counts can mislead when the total number of cases grows or shrinks, so the share of convictions is a steadier measure. In 2017–2019, Article 89 appeared in 20 of 1243 Navy and Marine Corps convictions with offenses listed (2%). In 2023–2025, it appeared in 10 of 940 (1%). The data treats these as about the same share.

The yearly share was 2% from 2017 through 2019, 1% from 2020 through 2022, and 0% in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, 8 convictions included the charge, a 3% share and the highest count in the period. With single-digit counts, a few cases can change these shares noticeably.

Fewer Punitive Discharges for Enlisted Members

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members and a dismissal for officers. In these cases, 25% of convicted enlisted members received one: 8 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the figure was 62%.

The data also lists 2 convicted officers or warrant officers. Neither was dismissed (0). A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation. Administrative separation happens outside the court-martial process and is not in these records.

How Long Was Confinement?

Of 38 convictions, 25 included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months for the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. These are adjudged sentences: the sentences imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case, not disrespect alone.

The band table shows the range of terms. In 34% of convictions here the sentence had no confinement, compared with 18% across the service. Terms under 6 months were 45% of convictions, compared with 35%. Only 1 of 38 convictions (3%) carried more than 1 year, compared with 25% across all cases, and no sentence was 5 years or more.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Of these 41 cases, 36 were special courts-martial and 5 were general courts-martial.

The general court-martial share was 12%, compared with 43% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years. Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement. Few sentences here exceeded 1 year.

Usually Charged With Other Offenses

Article 89 was the only charge in 8 of 41 cases. The other cases included additional charges: Article 92 (orders violation) in 11 cases, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 10, Article 128 (assault) in 10, Article 86 (AWOL) in 8, and Article 112a (drug) in 7.

Each sentence covers the whole case. The other charges are part of the sentence figures above, along with the disrespect charge.

Pleas, Ranks, and Bases

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Only 21 of the 41 records list the plea: 12 were guilty pleas and 9 were contested. The contested share was 43%, higher than the 32% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. That figure rests on few records.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 58% of the accused, NCOs were 38%, and officers were 5%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases, junior enlisted members were 63%. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried the most cases, 15. Camp Pendleton, California tried 6, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay 4, Norfolk, Virginia 4, and San Diego, California 2. Together these locations account for 76% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every type.

Rule Changes and Missing Information

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Judges sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records lack.

The records also omit the evidence, the plea terms, and anything handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave out the plea, so plea counts use only the records that include it.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.