What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in January 2020
In January 2020 the Navy and Marine Corps tried 48 courts-martial. Only 43% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 62% for both services across 2020. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 21% of cases, compared with 8% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › January 2020
Short answer: In January 2020 the Navy and Marine Corps tried 48 courts-martial. Only 43% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 62% for both services across 2020. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 21% of cases, compared with 8% for the year.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 42 convicted enlisted members, 18 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (43%). For the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole in 2020, the share was 62%. Of the 18 discharges, 7 were dishonorable, a sentence only a general court-martial can impose.
A punitive discharge is part of the court's sentence. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation, which these records do not show.
More Larceny Charges Than the Year
All 48 cases have charges listed, and each article counts once per case. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 10 cases (21%), compared with 8% for the year. Article 114 (dueling before 2019, endangerment since) appeared in 8%, compared with 3%.
The charges that were most common across the year appeared less often this month. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 23%, compared with 30% and 36% for 2020. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 10%, compared with 16%. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 8%, compared with 18%.
Article 81 (conspiracy) and Article 80 (attempts) each appeared in 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 23% | 30% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 11 | 23% | 36% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 10 | 21% | 8% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 10% | 16% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 4 | 8% | 7% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 8% | 11% |
| Art. 114 Dueling before 2019, endangerment since | 4 | 8% | 3% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 8% | 18% |
Convictions on the Leading Charges
All 10 cases charging larceny ended in a conviction on Article 121, and the median confinement was 2 months. All 11 drug cases ended in a conviction on Article 112a, and the median was 4 months.
For assault, 8 of 11 cases (73%) ended in a conviction on Article 128, and the median confinement was 1 year. Rows overlap, because 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. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 11 (100%) | 4 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 11 | 8 (73%) | 1 year |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 10 | 10 (100%) | 2 months |
More Sentences Without Confinement
There were 44 convictions on at least one charge, and 33 of them included confinement (75%). The 11 convictions with no confinement made up 25%, compared with 15% for the year.
The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the yearly median. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 10 of 44 convictions (23%), about the same as 26% for 2020. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more. Terms under 6 months made up 36%, the same share as the year.
These figures are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and covering every charge of conviction.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 11 | 25% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 36% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 16% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 18% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 5% | 6% |
Sentences by Court Level
General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 19 of the 48 cases (40%). Every conviction at that level included confinement, and the median was 1.4 years.
The other 29 cases were special courts-martial, which are capped at one year of confinement. Only 59% of their convictions included confinement, and the median was 3 months.
Because only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement, every sentence above one year in January 2020 came from the 19 general courts-martial. Every conviction with no confinement came from a special court-martial.
Mostly Guilty Pleas
Just 23 of the 48 records list a plea, a common gap before December 2020. Among those, 19 accused pleaded guilty, and 4 pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.
The contested share was 17%, lower than the 30% for 2020. Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal.
Change From January 2019
The number of cases rose from 27 to 48. The median confinement was 6 months in both months. The contested share went from 20% to 17%, and the general court-martial share went from 37% to 40%.
The largest change was in punitive discharges, which fell from 70% to 43% of convicted enlisted members. Convictions with confinement fell from 81% to 75%. In small monthly groups, a few cases can change a percentage, so the comparison shows direction only.
| January 2019 | January 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 27 | 48 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 20% | 17% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 3 | 2 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 81% | 75% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 70% | 43% |
| General courts-martial | 37% | 40% |
Rank and Installations
Among the accused with rank recorded, 24 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 20 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with 0 officers or warrant officers. Across 2020, junior enlisted made up 64%, so the month was more senior than usual.
Bremerton, Washington, had 7 cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 6 each. Okinawa, Japan, had 5, and Mayport, Florida, had 4. These five account for 58% of the 48 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Limits
Only courtroom outcomes appear here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases closed without action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They give trial dates, but not offense dates.
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 January 2020 (48 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 December 2019 (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2020 (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2020 (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.