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# Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2019-year-in-review/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:20:47.000Z
- Description: In 2019, 455 Navy and Marine Corps cases were tried by court-martial, according to these records. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 34% of them, compared with 15% in the other services in 2019. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months in the other services.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › 2019

**Short answer:** In 2019, 455 Navy and Marine Corps cases were tried by court-martial, according to these records. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 34% of them, compared with 15% in the other services in 2019\. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months in the other services.

Based on 455 cases · 2019 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## A More Senior Group of Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 57% of the Navy and Marine Corps accused in 2019, NCOs were 39%, and officers were 4%. In the other services in 2019, junior enlisted members were 68%. The Navy and Marine Corps tried a larger share of NCOs.

Camp Pendleton, California (74), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (62), Norfolk, Virginia (51), San Diego, California (51), and Bremerton, Washington (47) together tried 63% of the year's 455 cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count is not a judgment on any one base.

## Assault More Common, Drugs Less Common

The charge lists cover 428 of 455 cases, and each article is counted once in a case. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 34% of cases and Article 80 (attempt) in 10%. In the other services in 2019, the figures were 15% and 2%.

Article 112a (drug) was charged in 30% of cases here, compared with 51% in the other services. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 12%, compared with 23%. Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 11% of cases, compared with 6%.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the other services in 2019 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | --------------------------------- |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 147   | 34%        | 15%                               |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 128   | 30%        | 51%                               |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 71    | 17%        | 14%                               |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 60    | 14%        | 8%                                |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 50    | 12%        | 23%                               |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                                   | 47    | 11%        | 6%                                |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 44    | 10%        | 2%                                |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 35    | 8%         | 7%                                |

## Confinement in the Middle Range

Confinement was part of 82% of the 397 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months. In the other services in 2019, the median was 4 months. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Terms longer than 1 year were more common here: 97 of 397 convictions (24%), compared with 20%. Terms from 6 months to 1 year were 23% of convictions, compared with 15%. Terms of 5 years or more were less common: 5% of convictions here, compared with 8% in the other services.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the other services in 2019 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 72          | 18%        | 15%                               |
| Under 6 months                  | 137         | 35%        | 50%                               |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 91          | 23%        | 15%                               |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 77          | 19%        | 12%                               |
| 5 years or more                 | 20          | 5%         | 8%                                |

## Fewer Punitive Discharges Than in 2018

A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions (169 bad-conduct, 59 dishonorable), compared with 57% in the other services in 2019\. In 2018 the Navy and Marine Corps share was 66%. Of 16 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. There were more bad-conduct discharges than dishonorable discharges. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation, which is not in these records.

## What the Plea Records Show

Only 230 of the 455 records list a plea, because Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit it. Of those, 64 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 166 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 28%, the same as in 2018\. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The alternative is a guilty plea to every charge.

Cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea 91% of the time (61 of 67). Cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea 17% of the time (7 of 42). The records say nothing about the reasons for a plea.

## Verdicts and Findings for Each Article

Of the 64 contested cases that reached a verdict, 55% ended in a full acquittal. In 2018, the figure was 28 of 61\. Many records lack a plea, so the figure describes only part of the year's contested trials. 1 contested case ended in a partial acquittal: the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Article 92 cases most often ended in a conviction on that article (67 of 71, or 94%). Article 120 cases least often did (33 of 60, or 55%). The median confinement was 3 years for Article 120 convictions, 8 months for Article 128 convictions, and 6 months each for Article 112a and Article 92 convictions.

| Article                                                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 128 Assault                                            | 147               | 116 (79%)               | 8 months                                |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 128               | 117 (91%)               | 6 months                                |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation                 | 71                | 67 (94%)                | 6 months                                |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault                            | 60                | 33 (55%)                | 3 years                                 |

## General and Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. The records show 195 general and 260 special courts-martial in 2019\. The general court-martial share was 43%, compared with 50% in the other services in 2019.

At general courts-martial, 90% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.5 years. At special courts-martial, 76% did, and the median was 4 months.

## Compared With 2018

There were 455 cases in 2019, compared with 495 in 2018\. The contested share was 28% in both years. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 7 months. Convictions with confinement were 82%, compared with 85%. In yearly groups of this size, a few cases can change a percentage.

Trial records show what was charged, pleaded, found, and sentenced. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, or anything handled outside a court-martial.

|                                     | 2018     | 2019     |
| ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cases                               | 495      | 455      |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 28%      | 28%      |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 28 of 61 | 35 of 64 |
| Convictions with confinement        | 85%      | 82%      |
| Median confinement                  | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 66%      | 60%      |
| General courts-martial              | 45%      | 43%      |

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Every Navy and Marine Corps court-martial in the data with a trial date in 2019 (455 cases), compared with the other services in 2019 and with 2018.

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

- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2018-year-in-review/) (previous / next)
- [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2020-year-in-review/) (previous / next)
- [How 2021 Went at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2021-year-in-review/)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2022: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2022-year-in-review/)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2023-year-in-review/)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2025-year-in-review/)
- [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2017-year-in-review/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2018-year-in-review/)Next: [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2020-year-in-review/) →

**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.