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# What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in January 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-january-2017/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:09:14.000Z
- Description: The Navy and Marine Corps tried 36 courts-martial in January 2017. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 53% of them, compared with 37% across both services for all of 2017. Of convicted enlisted members, 79% received a punitive discharge, compared with 68% for the year.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › January 2017

**Short answer:** The Navy and Marine Corps tried 36 courts-martial in January 2017\. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 53% of them, compared with 37% across both services for all of 2017\. Of convicted enlisted members, 79% received a punitive discharge, compared with 68% for the year.

Based on 36 cases · January 2017 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Assault Was the Most Common Charge

All 36 cases have charges listed, and each article counts once per case. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 19 of them (53%), compared with 37% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2017.

Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was also more common than the year, at 28% compared with 19%. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 33%, about the same as its 31% share for the year.

Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 14%, and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), Article 107 (false official statements), Article 121 (larceny), and Article 134 (the general article) each appeared in 11%.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 19    | 53%        | 37%                                              |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12    | 33%        | 31%                                              |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 10    | 28%        | 19%                                              |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 5     | 14%        | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 4     | 11%        | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements                 | 4     | 11%        | 11%                                              |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                                   | 4     | 11%        | 9%                                               |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 4     | 11%        | 13%                                              |

## Discharges for Most Convicted Enlisted Members

Among 28 convicted enlisted members, 22 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. The share was 79%, higher than the 68% for the year. Of those 22, 5 were dishonorable discharges, the more severe kind, available only at a general court-martial.

The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation, which these records do not show.

## Results on the Most Common Charges

All 12 cases charging Article 112a ended in a conviction on that charge, and the median confinement was 8 months.

In 15 of 19 assault cases (79%), the accused was convicted under Article 128, and the median was 1 year. Article 120 had the lowest conviction rate among the most common charges, 6 of 10 cases (60%). It also had the longest median confinement, at 4.7 years. These rows overlap because one case can contain 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                                            | 19                | 15 (79%)                | 1 year                                  |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12                | 12 (100%)               | 8 months                                |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault                            | 10                | 6 (60%)                 | 4.7 years                               |

## Sentence Lengths

Of the 31 convictions, 87% included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 8 months for 2017.

Terms between 6 months and 1 year were the largest group: 12 convictions (39%), compared with 23% for the year. Terms under 6 months were less common, at 23% compared with 37%. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 8 of 31 convictions (26%), compared with 31% for the year. Of those, 4 convictions (13%) were 5 years or more.

Each figure is an adjudged sentence, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and it covers every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 4           | 13%        | 10%                                              |
| Under 6 months                  | 7           | 23%        | 37%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 12          | 39%        | 23%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4           | 13%        | 20%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 13%        | 10%                                              |

## General Versus Special Courts-Martial

There were 13 general courts-martial, 36% of the month's cases, and 23 special courts-martial. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 2.7 years. At special courts-martial, the median was 6 months. Every sentence above one year, and all 5 dishonorable discharges, came from general courts-martial.

## Pleas on Record

Only 15 of the 36 records list a plea, a common gap in Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020\. Among those, 10 were guilty pleas and 5 were not-guilty or mixed pleas, which count as contested.

The contested share was 33%, compared with 26% for the year. Of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal.

## One Year Before

January 2016 had 24 cases, and January 2017 had 36\. The contested share rose from 26% to 33%. The median confinement rose from 5 months to 9 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members rose from 61% to 79%.

The general court-martial share fell from 46% to 36%. Monthly groups are small, so these changes show direction rather than precise size.

|                                     | January 2016 | January 2017 |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------ | ------------ |
| Cases                               | 24           | 36           |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 26%          | 33%          |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 5       | 4 of 5       |
| Convictions with confinement        | 85%          | 87%          |
| Median confinement                  | 5 months     | 9 months     |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 61%          | 79%          |
| General courts-martial              | 46%          | 36%          |

## Who Was Tried and Where

The accused included 20 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 11 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix was more senior than the year, when 66% were junior enlisted.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 8 cases, and Bremerton, Washington, had 4\. Camp Pendleton, California; Norfolk, Virginia; and San Diego, California, had 3 each. These five account for 58% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Before the 2019 Changes, and Other Limits

These cases came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. That law later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those applied here.

The records cover only trials. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, or plea terms.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in January 2017 (36 cases), compared with the whole year.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, February 2017: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2017/) (previous / next)
- [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2017-year-in-review/) (the whole year)
- [April 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2018/)
- [April 2020 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 18 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2020/)
- [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/)
- [August 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 34 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2019/)
- [August 2024 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 49 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2024/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, February 2017: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2017/) →

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.