What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2022
The records list 23 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2022. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 30% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 9% for both services across all of 2022.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › February 2022
Short answer: The records list 23 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2022. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 30% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 9% for both services across all of 2022. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months for the year.
More Sexual Offense Charges Than the Year
Of the 23 cases, 20 have charges listed, and the shares here use those 20. Each article counts once per case, so one case can appear under several articles.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 6 cases (30%), compared with 9% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2022. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) was also more common than the year, at 15% compared with 3%. These 2 articles had the largest differences from the year.
Assault and Other Charges
Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, at 35% compared with 23% for the year. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) each appeared in 25%, higher than their yearly shares of 20% and 22%.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 15%, compared with its 18% share for 2022. Article 80 (attempts) and Article 131b (obstructing justice) each appeared in 10%, compared with 6% and 5%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 35% | 23% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 30% | 9% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 25% | 20% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 25% | 22% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 3 | 15% | 3% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 15% | 18% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 10% | 6% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 2 | 10% | 5% |
Few Long Sentences
There were 20 convictions, and 16 included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months for the year.
Most sentences were one year or less. Only 2 of 20 convictions (10%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 20% for the year. None was 5 years or more. Terms from 6 months to 1 year made up 35% of convictions, higher than the 25% for 2022. Another 4 convictions (20%) included no confinement.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. Most cases this month were special courts-martial.
These are adjudged sentences. They reflect what was imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover all charges of conviction.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 20% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 35% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 35% | 25% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 10% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 4% |
Contested Share the Same as the Year
A plea is recorded in 21 of the 23 cases. Of those, 14 were guilty pleas and 7 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.
The contested share was 33%, the same as for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2022. Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal. The other 6 ended in a conviction on at least one charge.
Punitive Discharges About the Same as the Year
Of convicted enlisted members, 60% received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% for 2022. There were 10 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges.
A punitive discharge is part of the sentence adjudged at trial. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation, which these records do not show.
A Very Junior Group of Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 86% of the accused and NCOs 14%. No officers were tried. Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2022, junior enlisted accounted for 65%. This month's group was more junior than the year.
General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 8 of the 23 cases (35%). The other cases were special courts-martial, where confinement is capped at one year and a dishonorable discharge is not available.
Compared With February 2021
The number of cases fell from 31 to 23. The contested share rose from 27% to 33%. The median confinement fell from 11 months to 7 months.
Convictions with confinement rose from 74% to 80%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 56% to 60%. The general court-martial share fell from 45% to 35%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 8 to 1 of 7. With so few cases, a few outcomes can change any of these figures.
| February 2021 | February 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 31 | 23 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 27% | 33% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 8 | 1 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 74% | 80% |
| Median confinement | 11 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 56% | 60% |
| General courts-martial | 45% | 35% |
Installations
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 4 cases. Norfolk, Virginia, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 3 each. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Groton, Connecticut, had 2 each. These five installations account for 61% of the 23 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What the Records Do Not Show
These figures describe cases that reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases closed without action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They date cases by trial, not by offense.
A February trial can involve conduct from much earlier, and the records cannot show when each offense took place.
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 February 2022 (23 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 January 2022 (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in March 2022 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2022: 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.