> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in July 2017 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-july-2017/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:09:20.000Z - Description: The records list 38 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from July 2017. Among cases with a recorded plea, 53% were contested, compared with 26% for both services across 2017. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 45% of cases, compared with 31% 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/) › July 2017 **Short answer:** The records list 38 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from July 2017\. Among cases with a recorded plea, 53% were contested, compared with 26% for both services across 2017\. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 45% of cases, compared with 31% for the year. Based on 38 cases · July 2017 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Contested Cases and More Full Acquittals July 2017 had a higher contested share and a higher full acquittal rate than the year. A plea is listed in 19 of the 38 records, a common gap in Navy and Marine Corps data before December 2020\. Of those 19, 10 were contested and 9 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 53%, compared with 26% for the year. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 70% ended in a full acquittal, compared with 54% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2017. With only 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, the rate is based on a small number of trials. A full acquittal means not guilty on every charge. A partial acquittal, with a conviction on another charge, counts as a conviction here. ## Drug Charges Were Most Common Every case has charges listed, and an article counts once per case. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 17 cases (45%), compared with 31% for the year. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 18%, compared with 9%. Article 128 (assault) was second, at 29%, lower than its 37% yearly share. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 21%, about the same as its 19%, and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) in 18%, compared with 16%. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 11%, the same as its yearly share. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 11%, compared with 8%, and Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 8%, compared with 13%. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 17 | 45% | 31% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 11 | 29% | 37% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 8 | 21% | 19% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 7 | 18% | 16% | | [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny | 7 | 18% | 9% | | [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements | 4 | 11% | 11% | | [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL | 4 | 11% | 8% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 3 | 8% | 13% | ## Conviction Rates Differed by Charge In 16 of 17 drug cases (94%), the accused was convicted of the drug charge, and the median confinement was 5 months. The conviction rate for assault was lower, 7 of 11 (64%), and the median confinement was 1.1 years. Article 120 cases ended in a conviction on that article in only 3 of 8, the lowest rate among the most common charges, and the median was 2 years. Rows overlap, since 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 | 17 | 16 (94%) | 5 months | | Art. 128 Assault | 11 | 7 (64%) | 1.1 years | | Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 8 | 3 (3 of 8) | 2 years | ## Fewer Long Sentences Of 31 convictions, 26 included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, the same as the median for 2017. Long sentences were less common than usual. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 6 of 31 convictions (19%), compared with 31% for the year. None was 5 years or more, compared with 10% across both services. Convictions with no confinement made up 16%, compared with 10%. These are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, covering every charge of conviction. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 5 | 16% | 10% | | Under 6 months | 12 | 39% | 37% | | 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 26% | 23% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 19% | 20% | | 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 10% | ## General and Special Courts-Martial General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 14 of the 38 cases (37%). At that level, the median confinement was 1.5 years. The other 24 cases were special courts-martial, where confinement is capped at one year and a dishonorable discharge is not available. At that level, the median was 5 months. Because only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement, all 6 sentences above one year came from the 14 general courts-martial. Most of the month's cases were special courts-martial. ## Punitive Discharges About the Same as the Year Among 29 convicted enlisted members, 20 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%), about the same as 68% for 2017\. Of those 20, 5 were dishonorable. The month also included 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and neither was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later. ## Rank and Location Among the accused with rank recorded, 23 were junior enlisted, 11 were NCOs, and 3 were officers. That group was more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps across 2017. Camp Pendleton, California, had 5 cases, and San Diego, California, had 4\. Okinawa, Japan; Norfolk, Virginia; and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had 3 each. These five account for 47% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## Earlier Rules and Missing Details These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. Fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements came later and did not apply. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They also do not include the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations. 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 July 2017 (38 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) - [June 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-june-2017/) (previous / next) - [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-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 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: [June 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-june-2017/)Next: [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-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.