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# What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in January 2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-january-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:06.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:10:34.000Z
- Description: Navy and Marine Corps records show 27 courts-martial in January 2025. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 22% of cases, compared with 8% for both services across all of 2025. Of the cases, 30% were contested, lower than the 37% contested share 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 2025

**Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps records show 27 courts-martial in January 2025\. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 22% of cases, compared with 8% for both services across all of 2025\. Of the cases, 30% were contested, lower than the 37% contested share for the year.

Based on 27 cases · January 2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Orders Violations and Attempts

All 27 cases have charges listed, and each article counts once per case. The most common charge was Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, in 10 cases (37%). Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025, that article appeared in 24% of cases.

Article 80 (attempts) had the largest difference from the year, at 22% compared with 8%. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 19%, compared with 10%, and Article 128 (assault) also in 19%, compared with 16%.

Several articles each appeared in 7% of cases. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) and Article 131b (obstructing justice) were about the same as or higher than their yearly shares. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 134 (the general article) were lower than their yearly shares of 11% and 21%.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 10    | 37%        | 24%                                              |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 6     | 22%        | 8%                                               |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 5     | 19%        | 16%                                              |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5     | 19%        | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                             | 2     | 7%         | 11%                                              |
| [Art. 120c](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120c/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Other sexual misconduct                 | 2     | 7%         | 3%                                               |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 2     | 7%         | 21%                                              |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice                                                                                                                      | 2     | 7%         | 6%                                               |

## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

Every record lists a plea: 19 guilty pleas and 8 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A not-guilty or mixed plea makes a case contested. The contested share was 30%, lower than the 37% for 2025.

Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 of 8 ended in a full acquittal. In January 2024, the figure was 2 of 10.

## Shorter Confinement at Special Courts-Martial

At the 11 general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1 year, and 36% of cases were contested. At the 16 special courts-martial, the median was 45 days, and 25% were contested.

General courts-martial made up 41% of the month's cases, higher than the 36% for 2025\. That level can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

## Sentence Lengths Overall

Of the 24 convictions, 79% included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 4 months for the year.

Terms under 6 months made up 46% of convictions, compared with 37% for 2025\. Sentences with no confinement made up 21%, compared with 31%. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 4 of 24 convictions (17%), about the same as 16% for the year. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge of conviction in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 5           | 21%        | 31%                                              |
| Under 6 months                  | 11          | 46%        | 37%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 4           | 17%        | 16%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2           | 8%         | 11%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 2           | 8%         | 5%                                               |

## Punitive Discharges About the Same as the Year

Of convicted enlisted members, 48% received a punitive discharge, about the same as 46% for 2025\. There were 8 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and a dishonorable discharge can come only from a general court-martial. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation later.

## January 2024 and January 2025

January 2024 had 28 cases, and January 2025 had 27\. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members fell from 77% to 48%. Convictions with confinement fell from 96% to 79%.

The median confinement went from 6 months to 5 months. The contested share fell from 36% to 30%. The general court-martial share rose from 32% to 41%. In small groups, a few cases can change a percentage, so these figures show direction only.

|                                     | January 2024 | January 2025 |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------ | ------------ |
| Cases                               | 28           | 27           |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 36%          | 30%          |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 10      | 3 of 8       |
| Convictions with confinement        | 96%          | 79%          |
| Median confinement                  | 6 months     | 5 months     |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 77%          | 48%          |
| General courts-martial              | 32%          | 41%          |

## A Junior Group

Among the accused with rank recorded, 20 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 were officers or warrant officers. That mix was more junior than the year, when 62% of the accused were junior enlisted.

The records do not give a rank for every accused, so these counts cover most but not all of the month's cases. Among those with a recorded rank, most were junior enlisted members.

## Locations

Camp Pendleton, California, had 5 cases. San Diego, California, had 4, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had 3\. Quantico, Virginia, and MCAS Miramar, California, had 2 each. These five account for 59% of the 27 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Rule Changes and Record Gaps

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 depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. January 2025 can include cases under both the old and new rules.

The records also do not include the evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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 2025 (27 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)
- [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in December 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-december-2024/) (previous / next)
- [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2025/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2025-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/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in December 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-december-2024/)Next: [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2025/) →

**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.