Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: Year in Review
The Navy and Marine Corps records list 325 courts-martial for 2023. Only 21 of 95 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (22%), compared with 47% in the other services in 2023.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps records list 325 courts-martial for 2023. Only 21 of 95 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (22%), compared with 47% in the other services in 2023. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 18% of cases, compared with 13% in the other services.
Few Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
In 2023, 21 of 95 contested Navy and Marine Corps cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, a 22% rate. The rate in the other services in 2023 was 47%. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge.
The figure was close to 2022, when 22 of 112 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. In yearly groups this small, a few cases can change the rate. The records do not show the reasons for any verdict.
Pleas
Of the 303 records listing a plea, 207 show a guilty plea and 96 show a not-guilty plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 32%. In the other services in 2023, 38% of cases were contested.
Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 79% of the time (54 of 68), the highest among the most common charges. Cases charging Article 92 ended in a guilty plea 65% of the time (35 of 54). The records do not explain a decision to plead guilty or to contest.
Orders Violations and Larceny Were More Common
The charge lists cover 307 of the 325 cases, and a case with several articles is counted under each. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 18% of cases, compared with 13% in the other services in 2023. Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 10%, compared with 5%.
Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) and Article 120 (sexual assault) were charged less often: in 10% and 11% of cases, compared with 19% each in the other services. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, at 26%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the other services in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 80 | 26% | 22% |
| Art. 134 General article | 68 | 22% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 56 | 18% | 13% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 39 | 13% | 13% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 33 | 11% | 19% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 31 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 30 | 10% | 19% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 19 | 6% | 5% |
Convictions by Article
Article 134 cases most often ended in a conviction on that article (67 of 68, or 99%). Article 128 cases least often did (66 of 80, or 82%). The median confinement was 1.5 years for Article 134 convictions, 6 months for Article 128 convictions, 5 months for Article 92 convictions, and 3 months for Article 112a convictions. 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 | 80 | 66 (82%) | 6 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 68 | 67 (99%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 56 | 54 (96%) | 5 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 39 | 37 (95%) | 3 months |
Sentences After Conviction
Of 283 convictions, 223 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months in the other services in 2023. 1 sentence was life. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
60 convictions (21%) had no confinement, compared with 14% in the other services. Terms longer than 1 year were less common than in the other services: 65 of 283 convictions (23%), compared with 27%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 4% of convictions here, compared with 6%. Terms from 6 months to 1 year were 23%, compared with 17%. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the most serious one.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the other services in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 60 | 21% | 14% |
| Under 6 months | 94 | 33% | 42% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 64 | 23% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 53 | 19% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 12 | 4% | 6% |
Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges
Of 265 convicted enlisted members, 166 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (63%). In the other services in 2023, the share was 70%. Of those discharges, 46 were dishonorable. Of 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.
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. In 2023, 149 of the 325 cases were general courts-martial (46%), compared with 68% in the other services in 2023.
At the 149 general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.5 years and 38% of cases were contested. At the 176 special courts-martial, the median was 3 months and 27% of cases were contested.
Rank and Installations
Among the accused with rank recorded, 191 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 94 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 9 were officers or warrant officers. The accused were more junior than in the other services in 2023, where 58% were junior enlisted members.
Camp Pendleton, California (39), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (32), San Diego, California (31), Norfolk, Virginia (29), and Bremerton, Washington (24) tried the most cases. Together they account for 48% of the 325. The largest installations try more cases of every kind.
Compared With 2022
There were 325 cases in 2023, compared with 368 in 2022. The contested share was 32%, compared with 33%. The median confinement was 6 months in both years. The enlisted punitive discharge share was 63%, compared with 64%. Convictions with confinement were 79%, compared with 83%.
In small groups, a few cases can change these figures. Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 368 | 325 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 33% | 32% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 22 of 112 | 21 of 95 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 79% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64% | 63% |
| General courts-martial | 42% | 46% |
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 2023 (325 cases), compared with the other services in 2023 and with 2022.
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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2022: Year in Review (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2024 (previous / next)
- How 2021 Went at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- 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.