Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review
In April 2019, the Navy and Marine Corps tried 41 courts-martial. The median confinement in convictions with a term was 9 months, compared with 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2019. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 24% of the cases, compared with 17% for the year.
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Short answer: In April 2019, the Navy and Marine Corps tried 41 courts-martial. The median confinement in convictions with a term was 9 months, compared with 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2019. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 24% of the cases, compared with 17% for the year.
Fewer Sentences With Confinement, but Longer Terms
There were 37 convictions in April 2019, and only 68% of them included confinement. In April 2018, the figure was 92%. The terms were longer: the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2019. A quarter were 2.5 years or more.
12 convictions (32%) had no confinement, compared with 18% for the year. Every figure here is an adjudged sentence, set at trial and covering every charge, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Sentence Lengths by Band
Sentences of more than 1 year were in 9 of the 37 convictions, a 24% share, the same as the yearly 24%. Of those, 8 convictions (22%) were between 1 and 5 years, compared with 19% for the year, and 1 (3%) was 5 years or more, compared with 5%.
Short terms were less common than usual. Terms under 6 months were 24% of convictions, compared with 35% across 2019. Terms from 6 months to 1 year were 19%, compared with 23%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 12 | 32% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 24% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 19% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 22% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 3% | 5% |
Sentences by Court Level
Only a general court-martial can impose more than 1 year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to 1 year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. In April 2019, 16 of the 41 cases (39%) were general courts-martial, and the other 25 were special courts-martial.
At general courts-martial, 92% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2.5 years. At special courts-martial, only 54% did, and the median was 4 months.
More Orders Violation and Assault Charges
All 41 records list the charges, and a case can count under several articles. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 16 cases, a 39% share compared with 34% for 2019. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 10 cases (24%), compared with 17% for the year.
Article 112a (drug) was charged in 11 cases (27%), slightly lower than the yearly 30%. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) was charged in 4 cases, or 10%, compared with 3% across 2019. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 12%, compared with 14%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 16 | 39% | 34% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 27% | 30% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 24% | 17% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 6 | 15% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 15% | 12% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 12% | 14% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 4 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 10% | 10% |
Results on the Most Common Charges
All 11 drug cases ended with a conviction on Article 112a, and their median confinement was 8 months. Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 9 of 10 (90%), with a median of 3 months.
Assault charges ended in a conviction least often of the three: 13 of 16 (81%) ended in an assault conviction. Those cases had the longest median, 1.5 years. The rows overlap, since one case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 16 | 13 (81%) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 11 (100%) | 8 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 9 (90%) | 3 months |
Pleas and Acquittals
The plea appears in 26 of the 41 records. Of those, 20 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 23%, compared with 28% for the year. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these figures use only the records that list it.
Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 of 6 ended in a full acquittal, compared with 0 of 4 in April 2018.
Discharges and the Accused
A punitive discharge followed 57% of enlisted convictions: 13 bad-conduct discharges and 7 dishonorable discharges. For the Navy and Marine Corps in 2019, the share was 60%. Of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Among the accused with rank recorded, 22 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 14 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 were officers or warrant officers. This is similar to the year, when 57% were junior enlisted members.
Compared With April 2018
There were 41 cases, compared with 43 in April 2018. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 57%, compared with 62%. The contested share was 23%, compared with 21%. The general court-martial share was 39%, compared with 37%. A few cases can change figures for small groups, so these changes show direction, not exact size.
San Diego, California had the most trials this month (7). Bremerton, Washington, Norfolk, Virginia, and Camp Pendleton, California had 6 each, and Okinawa, Japan had 4. These 5 locations account for 71% of the cases.
| April 2018 | April 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 43 | 41 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 21% | 23% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 4 | 2 of 6 |
| Convictions with confinement | 92% | 68% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 62% | 57% |
| General courts-martial | 37% | 39% |
Outside the Scope of These Records
Only cases that reached a courtroom appear here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed with no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or any plea terms.
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 2019 (41 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)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in March 2019 (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in May 2019 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review (the whole year)
- April 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases
- 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
- 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.