What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2025

Trends › By Year › February 2025

Based on 22 cases · February 2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Contested Cases Equaled Guilty Pleas

Every record lists a plea. In 11 cases the accused pleaded guilty. In 11 the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, which makes the case contested. The contested share was 50%, compared with 37% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2025.

Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 27% ended in a full acquittal, the same as the 27% for the year. Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means not guilty on at least one charge and guilty on another.

False Statements Were Common

Every case has charges listed, and each article counts once per case. Article 107, which covers false official statements, appeared in 5 cases (23%), compared with 7% for the year.

Article 119b (child endangerment) was also more common than the year, at 14% compared with 3%. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 18%, compared with 10%, and Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) in 9%, compared with 5%.

Other articles were about the same as usual or less common. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 18%, compared with 21%, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 14%, compared with 11%. Article 128 (assault) and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 14%, lower than their yearly shares of 16% and 24%.

Confinement Terms

Of 19 convictions, 12 included confinement, and 7 did not. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2025. A quarter of the terms were 1.5 years or longer.

In the same month, more cases were contested and fewer were general courts-martial. The records cannot show whether these figures are related. With only 12 confinement terms, a single long sentence can change the median.

These are adjudged sentences: the punishment set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and covering every charge of conviction.

Punitive Discharges

Of 19 convicted enlisted members, 7 received a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. Across the year, the share was 46%. For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means either a bad-conduct discharge or the more severe dishonorable discharge.

For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. A dishonorable discharge is available only at a general court-martial, and the month had 6 of those. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

More NCOs, Mostly Special Courts-Martial

NCOs (E-5 to E-9) were the larger group, with 13 accused. There were 9 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 0 officers or warrant officers. Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025, junior enlisted members accounted for 62% of the accused.

The month had 6 general and 16 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 27%, lower than the 36% for the year. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, while a general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Installations

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had the most cases, with 4. Jacksonville, Florida, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 3 each. Bremerton, Washington, and San Diego, California, had 2 each. Those five account for 64% of the month's 22 cases.

Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not measure misconduct at any one base.

Newer Rules, Unknown Offense Dates

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not 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 within new sentencing parameters.

Both changes depend on when the offense occurred, and the records give only trial dates. February 2025 can include cases under both the old and new rules, and the data cannot separate them.

What Falls Outside

These records cover courts-martial only. They give the date of trial, not the date of the alleged offense. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases closed without action do not appear. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms behind any outcome.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.