Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Sentences Before and After the December 2023 Sentencing Changes
Punitive discharges became less common in Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial after the December 2023 sentencing changes: 52% of convicted enlisted members received one in 2024–2026, compared with 64% in 2021–2023.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Law Changes › Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Sentence
Short answer: Punitive discharges became less common in Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial after the December 2023 sentencing changes: 52% of convicted enlisted members received one in 2024–2026, compared with 64% in 2021–2023. Median confinement stayed at 6 months, while convictions with no confinement rose to 30% from 17%. The records hold 1013 cases in the later period.
Fewer Punitive Discharges After the Change
Of 801 convicted enlisted members in 2024–2026, 417 received a punitive discharge (52%). That share was 64% in 2021–2023. The 417 discharges were 274 bad-conduct discharges and 143 dishonorable discharges.
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. Among 33 convicted officers or warrant officers, 10 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
| 2021–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 1135 | 1013 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 32% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 77 of 339 | 90 of 343 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 70% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64% | 52% |
| General courts-martial | 45% | 38% |
Confinement Became Less Common, but the Median Did Not Move
There were 883 convictions in 2024–2026, and 70% of them included confinement. In 2021–2023, 83% of convictions included confinement. The share of convictions with no confinement at all was 30%, compared with 17% before.
Among the sentences that did include confinement, the median was 6 months in both periods. Half of the confinement terms in 2024–2026 were 6 months or less. These figures are adjudged sentences: what was announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not a single offense.
How Long Were the Longer Sentences?
Sentences longer than one year made up 20% of convictions in 2024–2026 (179 of 883), compared with 23% in 2021–2023. The band from 6 months to 1 year fell to 14% from 25%. At the top of the range, sentences of 5 years or more were 7% of convictions, compared with 5% before.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, 2021–2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 265 | 30% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 311 | 35% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 128 | 14% | 25% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 118 | 13% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 61 | 7% | 5% |
Fewer General Courts-Martial
General courts-martial made up 38% of the 998 cases with a court level listed in 2024–2026 (377 of 998), compared with 45% in 2021–2023. Special courts-martial accounted for 621 cases, and the court level is not listed for 15 cases.
Sentences differed by court level. The median confinement was 1.7 years at a general court-martial and 3 months at a special court-martial. The contested share was 38% at the general level and 35% at the special level.
Domestic Violence Charges Grew as Assault and Drug Charges Fell
Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 12% of cases in 2024–2026, compared with 5% in 2021–2023. Article 128 (assault) was charged less often, in 15% of cases compared with 27%. Article 112a (drug) also fell, to 12% from 21%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 6% of cases, compared with 13%.
The shares use the 1005 of 1013 records that list charges. Each article counts once per case, so a case with several articles appears in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, 2021–2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 210 | 21% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 194 | 19% | 19% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 148 | 15% | 27% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 122 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 121 | 12% | 21% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 72 | 7% | 9% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 68 | 7% | 9% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 65 | 6% | 13% |
Convictions on the Top Charges
Article 134 (general article) was the most common charge, in 210 cases, and 199 of those ended in a conviction on that article (95%). Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) had the lowest conviction rate among the top charges: 172 of 194 (89%). For Article 128b, 112 of 122 cases ended in a conviction on that article (92%), with a median confinement of 3 months.
Guilty pleas were most common in cases charging Article 134, at 71% (142 of 199), and least common in cases charging Article 92, at 56% (104 of 185). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 210 | 199 (95%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 194 | 172 (89%) | 3 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 148 | 133 (90%) | 4 months |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 122 | 112 (92%) | 3 months |
Pleas and Full Acquittals
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Among the 954 records that list the plea, 611 accused pleaded guilty and 343 contested at least one charge (36%). The contested share was 32% in 2021–2023.
Of the 343 contested cases that reached a verdict, 90 ended in a full acquittal (26%). That rate is higher than the 23% in 2021–2023, when 77 of 339 contested cases ended that way. Another 102 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.
Who Was Tried and Where
Among the accused with rank recorded, 544 were junior enlisted, 344 were NCOs, and 36 were officers. The group is more senior than in 2021–2023. The yearly count was 394 in 2024, 353 in 2025, and 266 in 2026, a partial year.
Camp Pendleton, California had the most cases (142), followed by San Diego, California (126), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (119), Norfolk, Virginia (77), and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay (53). Together these 5 installations account for 51% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What the Rule Change Did, and What the Records Cannot Show
For offenses committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within sentencing parameters, and special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. The new rules depend on the offense date. These records give only trial dates, so trials in 2024 and later include cases under both the old and the new rules.
The changes in the numbers happened in the same period as the law change. The records cannot show whether the law caused them. They also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2021–2023 (1135) and 2024–2026 (1013).
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Law Changes (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy and Marine Corps Courts-Martial Before and After the Military Justice Act of 2016
- Air Force Court-Martial Sentences Before and After the December 2023 Sentencing Changes
- Air Force Courts-Martial Before and After the Military Justice Act of 2016
- Army Court-Martial Sentences Before and After the December 2023 Sentencing Changes
- Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Cases Before and After the Office of Special Trial Counsel
- Search every case in 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.