Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, July 2023: The Month in Review
The records list 26 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in July 2023, and 23 of them ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those convictions, 87% included confinement.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records list 26 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in July 2023, and 23 of them ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those convictions, 87% included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months for all of 2023, and 1 sentence was confinement for life.
Confinement in Nearly Every Conviction
Of the 23 convictions, 20 included confinement. Only 3 (13%) included no confinement, lower than the 21% across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023.
The median adjudged term was 7 months, compared with the yearly median of 6 months. One sentence was confinement for life. Adjudged means the sentence announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and it covers every charge in the case.
Sentence Lengths
Terms under 6 months were the largest group, with 10 convictions (43%), higher than the yearly 33%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 5 convictions (22%), about the same as 23% for the year.
Sentences of more than one year were adjudged in 5 of 23 convictions (22%), about the same as the 23% annual figure. Of those, 3 (13%) were between 1 and 5 years, lower than the yearly 19%. The other 2 (9%) were 5 years or more, higher than the yearly 4%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 13% | 21% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 43% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 22% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 13% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 9% | 4% |
Sentences by Court Level
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year and at a bad-conduct discharge. July 2023 had 12 general courts-martial, 46% of the 26 cases, and 14 special courts-martial.
At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 2.2 years, and 50% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 2 months, and 15% were contested.
Mostly Guilty Pleas
The plea is recorded in 23 of the 26 cases. Of those, 16 accused pleaded guilty and 7 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, which makes the case contested. The contested share was 30%, about the same as the 32% for the year.
Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal. With so few contested cases, a single verdict would change the acquittal rate by a large amount.
Assault and Child Sexual Abuse Charges
Charges are listed for 24 of the 26 cases, and an article counts once per case even when it is charged several times. Article 128 (assault) was the most common, in 7 cases (29%), compared with 26% for the year. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 5 cases (21%).
Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 3 cases (12%), compared with 5% for the year. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) was lower than usual, at 8% compared with 13%. Article 85 (desertion) and Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 2 cases each, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 1. Desertion appeared in 8% of cases, compared with 4% for the year. Domestic violence also appeared in 8%, compared with 10%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 29% | 26% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 21% | 18% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 21% | 22% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 8% | 13% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 2 | 8% | 4% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 8% | 10% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 1 | 4% | 2% |
Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge adjudged as part of a court-martial sentence. Of convicted enlisted members, 64% received one: 10 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. The yearly share was 63%.
The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
A Year After July 2022
July 2022 had 28 cases, and July 2023 had 26. The contested share fell from 62% to 30%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 5 of 16 to 1 of 7.
Convictions with confinement rose from 67% to 87%. The median confinement went from 6 months to 7 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 53% to 64%. The general court-martial share rose from 39% to 46%. In groups of this size, a few cases can change a percentage, so these changes show direction, not exact size.
| July 2022 | July 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28 | 26 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 62% | 30% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 5 of 16 | 1 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 67% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 53% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 39% | 46% |
Rank and Location of the Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 50% of the accused, NCOs were 46%, and officers were 4%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023, junior enlisted made up 65%, so this month's group was more senior.
San Diego, California, had the most cases, with 4. Camp Pendleton, California, and Norfolk, Virginia, had 3 each, and Jacksonville, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida, had 2 each. Together these five account for 54% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not mean a base has a problem.
Limits of the Trial Records
Only cases that went to a court-martial are counted. Matters handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They give trial dates, 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 July 2023 (26 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)
- June 2023 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 27 Cases (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in August 2023 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: Year in Review (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.