What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in January 2024
The Navy and Marine Corps tried 28 courts-martial in January 2024. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 29% of cases, compared with 16% for both services across all of 2024. Of convicted enlisted members, 77% received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › January 2024
Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps tried 28 courts-martial in January 2024. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 29% of cases, compared with 16% for both services across all of 2024. Of convicted enlisted members, 77% received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for the year.
Assault and Domestic Violence Charges Were Most Common
Every case in January 2024 has charges listed, and each article counts once per case. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 8 cases (29%), compared with 16% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 7 cases (25%), compared with 13%.
Article 134 (the general article) also appeared in 25%, about the same as its 22% yearly share. Article 115 (communicating threats) and Article 131b (obstructing justice) each appeared in 7%, higher than their yearly shares of 2% and 4%.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 11%, lower than its 16% share. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 7%, the same as its yearly share, and Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) appeared in 4%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 29% | 16% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 25% | 22% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 7 | 25% | 13% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 11% | 16% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 2 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 2 | 7% | 2% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 1 | 4% | 2% |
More Punitive Discharges Than the Year
Of 26 convicted enlisted members, 20 received a punitive discharge: 15 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. The share was 77%, compared with 58% for the year.
A punitive discharge is part of the trial sentence. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation later, which these records do not show.
Nearly Every Conviction Included Confinement
Of the 26 convictions, 96% included confinement. Only 1 conviction (4%) included no confinement, compared with 25% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024.
The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 5 months for the year. Terms under 6 months made up 46% of convictions, compared with 38%. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 7 of 26 convictions (27%), compared with 22% for the year. Of those, 2 convictions (8%) were 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 in each case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 4% | 25% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 46% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 23% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 19% | 15% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 8% | 7% |
Contested Cases and Their Outcomes
Every record lists a plea. In 18 cases the accused pleaded guilty. In 10 the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, which makes the case contested. The contested share was 36%, about the same as 34% for the year.
Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 20% ended in a full acquittal, lower than the 27% for 2024. Another 2 ended in a partial acquittal: a not-guilty finding on at least one charge and a conviction on another.
Court Level
The month had 9 general courts-martial and 19 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 32%, lower than the 38% for 2024.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable one.
Compared With January 2023
January 2023 had 25 cases, and January 2024 had 28. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members rose from 45% to 77%. Convictions with confinement rose from 82% to 96%.
The contested share rose from 30% to 36%. The median confinement went from 5 months to 6 months. The general court-martial share fell from 44% to 32%. With groups this small, these numbers show direction, not lasting change.
| January 2023 | January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 25 | 28 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 30% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 7 | 2 of 10 |
| Convictions with confinement | 82% | 96% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 45% | 77% |
| General courts-martial | 44% | 32% |
Rank of the Accused
The accused were 15 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 13 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with 0 officers or warrant officers. Across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024, junior enlisted made up 58%, so January's group was more senior.
There were almost as many NCOs as junior enlisted members. No officers were tried, so every conviction in the month was of an enlisted member. The discharge figures above describe all convicted accused.
New Rules and Offense Dates
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 within new sentencing parameters.
January 2024 came right after both changes. Whether either rule applied depends on the offense date, which the records do not give. This month's trials can include cases under both the old and new rules, and the data cannot separate them.
Installations and Limits
San Diego, California, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 5 cases each. Mayport, Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia, had 3 each, and Yokosuka, Japan, had 2. These five account for 64% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or cases closed without action.
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 2024 (28 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, December 2023: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, February 2024: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2024 (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.