April 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases
The Navy and Marine Corps tried 43 courts-martial in April 2018, according to the records. Article 107 (false official statement) charges were in 19% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 11% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2018.
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Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps tried 43 courts-martial in April 2018, according to the records. Article 107 (false official statement) charges were in 19% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 11% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2018. Of the cases with a recorded plea, 21% were contested, lower than the yearly 28%.
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
Of the 43 trials, 27 were special courts-martial and 16 were general courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 37%, compared with 45% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2018 and 49% in April 2017.
Court level affects the possible sentence. A special court-martial cannot impose more than 1 year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge, though it can impose a bad-conduct discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. The median confinement was 1.8 years at the 16 general courts-martial and 4 months at the special courts-martial.
Shorter Terms Than the Year as a Whole
There were 40 convictions, and 92% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, slightly lower than the 7 months for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2018. A quarter of the terms were 1 year or longer.
Terms over 1 year were in 9 of the 40 convictions (22%), compared with 30% for the year. Under 6 months was the largest band, with 18 convictions (45%), compared with 32% across 2018. Only 2 convictions (5%) were 5 years or more, compared with 9% for the year. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 8% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 18 | 45% | 32% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 25% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 18% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 5% | 9% |
Which Articles Were Charged
Charge lists exist for 42 cases, and a single case can count under more than one article. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 14 cases (33%, compared with 34% for the year). Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged in 11 (26%, the same as the yearly 26%).
Several less common charges were more frequent than across the year. Article 107 was charged in 8 cases (19%, compared with 11%), Article 81 (conspiracy) in 7 (17%, compared with 9%), and Article 82 (soliciting) in 4 (10%, compared with 4%). Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) was charged in 5 cases, or 12%, compared with 5% for the year.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 33% | 34% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 26% | 26% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 8 | 19% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 17% | 15% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 7 | 17% | 9% |
| Art. 131b Obstruction, numbered since 2019 | 5 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 12% | 11% |
| Art. 82 Soliciting | 4 | 10% | 4% |
Results on the Most Common Charges
All 11 drug cases ended with a conviction on Article 112a, with a median confinement of 6 months. All 8 false official statement cases also ended in a conviction on that article, also with a median of 6 months.
Assault charges ended in a conviction less often: 12 of 14 cases (86%) ended in an assault conviction. Those cases had the highest median among these charges, 10 months.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 12 (86%) | 10 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 11 (100%) | 6 months |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 6 months |
Pleas, Where the Records Show Them
Only 19 of the 43 records list the plea. Of those, 15 were guilty pleas and 4 were contested, meaning a plea of not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 21%, compared with 28% across 2018.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so this count covers only part of the month's cases. At general courts-martial, 2 of 9 cases with a plea were contested. At special courts-martial, 20% were.
Discharges After Conviction
Of 40 convicted enlisted members, 25 received a punitive discharge (62%), lower than the 66% across 2018. Of those, 5 were dishonorable discharges and the rest were bad-conduct discharges. No convicted officers appear in the month's records.
A sentence that does not include a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Compared With April 2017
April 2017 had 49 cases and April 2018 had 43. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 8 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 62%, compared with 70%. The contested share was 21%, compared with 19%. Convictions with confinement were 92%, compared with 96%.
Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 1 of 4 in April 2017 and 0 of 4 in April 2018. In groups this small, a few cases can change these figures, so they show direction more than exact size.
| April 2017 | April 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 49 | 43 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 19% | 21% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 4 | 0 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 96% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 70% | 62% |
| General courts-martial | 49% | 37% |
Ranks and Bases
The accused included 25 junior enlisted members and 15 NCOs, similar to the year as a whole. Camp Pendleton, California had the most trials (9). San Diego, California had 6, Norfolk, Virginia 5, Okinawa, Japan 4, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 3. Together these locations account for 63% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
The Law at the Time and the Limits of the Data
These cases were tried under the rules in place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial limited to 6 months of confinement, and written plea agreements came later.
The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They omit the evidence, the plea terms, and any conduct handled through 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 with a trial date in April 2018 (43 cases), compared with the whole year.
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, March 2018: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, May 2018: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2018 (the whole year)
- April 2020 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 18 Cases
- August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases
- August 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 34 Cases
- August 2024 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 49 Cases
- 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.