What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in December 2025
The Navy and Marine Corps held 24 courts-martial in December 2025. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 25% of them, compared with 16% for both services across all of 2025. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the year.
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Trends › By Year › December 2025
Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps held 24 courts-martial in December 2025. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 25% of them, compared with 16% for both services across all of 2025. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the year.
More Assault Charges Than the Year
All 24 cases have charges listed, and a case with several articles is counted under each one. Article 128, which covers assault, was the most common charge, in 6 cases (25%). Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025, assault appeared in 16% of cases.
Article 134, the general article, was second, at 21%, the same as its share for the year. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 12% of cases, higher than its 8% yearly share. Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, also appeared in 12%, lower than its 24% share across 2025.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 25% | 16% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 21% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 12% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 12% | 24% |
| Art. 108 Military property; loss, damage, destruction | 2 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 8% | 10% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 8% | 4% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 2 | 8% | 3% |
Less Common Charges
Several articles appeared in 2 cases each (8%). One was Article 108, covering loss, damage, or destruction of military property, which appeared in just 1% of cases for the year. Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) were also more common than their yearly shares of 4% and 3%.
Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 8% of the month's cases, compared with 10% for the year.
Pleas: Fewer Contested Cases
A plea is recorded in 23 of the 24 cases. In 16, the accused pleaded guilty. In 7, the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, which makes the case contested. The contested share was 30%, lower than the 37% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2025.
Fewer of these cases were contested than in the year as a whole. Most December cases ended in a guilty plea.
Shorter Terms, More Sentences Without Confinement
Of 23 convictions, 61% included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the year.
Convictions with no confinement made up 9 convictions (39%), higher than the 31% share for 2025. Terms under 6 months made up 35%, and terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 13%.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 3 of 23 convictions (13%), about the same as the 16% for the year. None was 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge of conviction.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 39% | 31% |
| Under 6 months | 8 | 35% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 13% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 13% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Year
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. In December 2025, 41% of convicted enlisted members received one, lower than the 46% share for the year. There were 8 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge.
The month had 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and 0 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Court Level and Rank
The month had 8 general courts-martial and 16 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 33%, about the same as the 36% for 2025. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge, while a special court-martial is capped at one year.
By rank, 15 accused were junior enlisted, 8 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. That mix is about the same as the Navy and Marine Corps across the year.
Five Locations, Most of the Cases
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had the most cases, with 6. San Diego, California, had 4. Camp Pendleton, California, had 3. Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., had 2 each. These five locations account for 71% of the month's 24 cases.
Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not mean a base has a problem.
Rules That Depend on the Offense Date
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters.
Both rules depend on when the offense happened. The records give trial dates only, so December 2025 can include cases under both the old and new rules. The data cannot separate them.
Outside the Courtroom
Conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action does not appear in these records. The records also do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement.
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 December 2025 (24 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, November 2025: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: 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
- 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.