How Navy-Marine Corps Orders Violation Cases Ended in 2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 92 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2025

Based on 83 cases · 2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Service

Of 68 convicted enlisted members, 21 received a punitive discharge: 17 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. That is 31%, lower than the 46% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2025.

A punitive discharge is part of the court's sentence. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation later, which these records do not track. Of the 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

More Partial Acquittals Than Full Acquittals

The plea is listed in 81 of the 83 records: 47 guilty pleas and 34 contested cases, where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 42%, higher than the 37% across the service.

All 34 contested cases reached a verdict. 6 ended in a full acquittal (18%), lower than the 27% across the service. 12 (35%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, and guilty of another.

Short Confinement Terms

There were 76 convictions, and confinement was part of 61% of them. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months across the service. A quarter of terms were 5 months or longer.

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

Most Sentences Were in the Lower Bands

Under 6 months was the largest band, with 36 convictions (47%), compared with 37% across the service. 30 convictions (39%) had no confinement, compared with 31%. 7 (9%) were between 6 months and 1 year, compared with 16%.

Only 3 of 76 convictions (4%) carried more than 1 year, compared with 16% across the service. All 3 were 5 years or more. No conviction was in the band between 1 and 5 years.

Confinement by Court Level

Special courts-martial tried 66 of these cases and general courts-martial tried 17, so general courts-martial were 20%. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

Confinement was less common at general courts-martial: 47% of general court-martial convictions included confinement, and the median was 1 year. At special courts-martial, 64% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2 months.

So general courts-martial imposed confinement less often, but their median term was longer. There were only 17 general courts-martial, and the records do not explain the difference. The pattern describes this year's cases only.

2025 Compared With 2024

There were 83 cases in 2025, compared with 62 in 2024. The contested share was 42%, compared with 44%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 8 of 26 in 2024 and 6 of 34 in 2025. The median confinement was 3 months in both years. Convictions with confinement were 61%, compared with 55%.

The largest change was in punitive discharges for enlisted members: 31%, compared with 46%. The general court-martial share was 20%, compared with 16%. In groups this size, a few cases can change each figure, so the changes show direction more than exact size.

Charges, Ranks, and Bases

In 63 of the 83 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 128 (assault) was the most common other charge, in 14 cases. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 11, and Article 112a (drug), Article 131b (obstruction), and Article 107 (false official statement) in 7 each.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 56% of the accused, NCOs were 40%, and officers were 4%. Across the service, junior enlisted members were 62%. Camp Pendleton, California tried 13 cases, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia 10 each, Great Lakes, Illinois 7, and Quantico, Virginia 5. Together these locations account for 54% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds.

Rules That Depend on the Offense Date

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether covered offenses, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, are prosecuted. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

The records list trial dates only, so the 2025 trials include an unknown number of old-rule and new-rule cases. The records also omit the evidence, plea terms, and matters handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Plea data is nearly complete for this year. The contested share and acquittal figures here use nearly every case, not a small subset.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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.