Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2022: Year in Review
The Navy and Marine Corps held 368 courts-martial in 2022, according to these records. Only 20% of contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (22 of 112), compared with 41% in the other services in 2022.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps held 368 courts-martial in 2022, according to these records. Only 20% of contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (22 of 112), compared with 41% in the other services in 2022. Of all cases, 33% were contested, compared with 39% in the other services.
Full Acquittals Were Uncommon
Of 112 contested cases that reached a verdict in 2022, 22 ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 20%. The rate in the other services in 2022 was 41%. Another 28 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, with an acquittal on at least one charge and a conviction on another.
The rate was lower than in 2021, when 34 of 132 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. The records cannot show why. In small yearly groups, a few cases can change the rate.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Pleas are recorded for 342 of 368 cases: 230 guilty pleas and 112 not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 33%. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge. In the other services in 2022, 39% of cases were contested.
Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 70% of the time (55 of 79), the highest among the most common charges. Cases charging Article 92 ended in a guilty plea 62% of the time (39 of 63). The records do not show why an accused pleaded guilty or contested.
Sexual Assault Charges Were Less Common
Shares use the 345 cases whose records list charges, and each case is counted under every article it charges. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 9% of Navy and Marine Corps cases, compared with 22% in the other services in 2022. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) was charged in 3%, compared with 10%.
The other most common charges were Article 128 (assault) at 23%, Article 112a (drug) at 22%, Article 134 (general article) at 20%, and Article 92 (orders violation) at 18%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the other services in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 79 | 23% | 26% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 75 | 22% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 70 | 20% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 63 | 18% | 18% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 32 | 9% | 22% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 23 | 7% | 6% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 22 | 6% | 5% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 19 | 6% | 7% |
Convictions on the Most Common Articles
Every Article 134 case ended in a conviction on that article (70 of 70). Article 128 and Article 112a cases each ended in a conviction on that article 92% of the time, and Article 92 cases 95% of the time. The median confinement was 1.5 years for Article 134 convictions and 5 months each for convictions on the other most common articles. A case can include several articles, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 79 | 73 (92%) | 5 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 75 | 69 (92%) | 5 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 70 | 70 (100%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 63 | 60 (95%) | 5 months |
Fewer Long Sentences
Of 323 convictions, 267 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months in the other services in 2022. 1 term was a life sentence. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Terms longer than 1 year were less common than in the other services: 65 of 323 convictions (20%), compared with 27%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 4%, compared with 7%. Terms from 6 months to 1 year were 25% of convictions here, compared with 16%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the other services in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 56 | 17% | 14% |
| Under 6 months | 122 | 38% | 42% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 80 | 25% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 51 | 16% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 14 | 4% | 7% |
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement. In 2022, 153 of the 368 cases were general courts-martial (42%), compared with 69% in the other services in 2022.
At the 153 general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.2 years and 41% of cases were contested. At the 215 special courts-martial, the median was 3 months and 27% of cases were contested.
Discharges and Dismissals
A punitive discharge followed 64% of enlisted convictions (147 bad-conduct, 49 dishonorable). That is the same share as in 2021 and lower than the 70% in the other services in 2022. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. Of 9 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out administrative separation.
Rank and Installations
Among the accused with rank recorded, 221 were junior enlisted members, 107 were NCOs, and 11 were officers. The accused were more junior than in the other services in 2022.
Camp Pendleton, California (61), Norfolk, Virginia (50), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (48), San Diego, California (27), and Jacksonville, Florida (23) tried the most cases. Together they account for 57% of the 368. Larger installations try more cases of every type.
Change From 2021, and Missing Information
There were 368 cases in 2022, compared with 442 in 2021. The contested share was 33%, compared with 32%. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 7 months. The general court-martial share was 42%, compared with 48%. Convictions with confinement were 83%, compared with 85%. The enlisted punitive discharge share was 64% in both years. A few cases can change figures for groups like these, so the changes show direction, not exact size.
The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 442 | 368 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 32% | 33% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 34 of 132 | 22 of 112 |
| Convictions with confinement | 85% | 83% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 48% | 42% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every Navy and Marine Corps court-martial in the data with a trial date in 2022 (368 cases), compared with the other services in 2022 and with 2021.
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
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- How 2021 Went at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: Year in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2017
- 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.