March 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 50 Cases
The records show 50 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2017, compared with 21 in March 2016. A punitive discharge was part of 74% of enlisted convictions, compared with 68% for all of 2017.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records show 50 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2017, compared with 21 in March 2016. A punitive discharge was part of 74% of enlisted convictions, compared with 68% for all of 2017. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 11 of 45 convictions (24%), compared with 31% for the year.
More Cases Than a Year Before
The records show 50 trials in March 2017, compared with 21 in March 2016. The March 2016 group is small, and a few cases can change its percentages, so the comparison needs care.
From March 2016 to March 2017, the contested share went from 35% to 31%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 7 to 2 of 5. Convictions with confinement went from 82% to 87%, and the median confinement went from 8 months to 9 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 71% to 74%. General courts-martial went from 48% of cases to 36%.
| March 2016 | March 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 21 | 50 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 35% | 31% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 7 | 2 of 5 |
| Convictions with confinement | 82% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 74% |
| General courts-martial | 48% | 36% |
Punitive Discharges Were More Common
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or dishonorable discharge imposed as part of the sentence. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. A punitive discharge was part of 74% of enlisted convictions in March 2017: 22 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. The share for 2017 was 68%.
There were 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and both were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Child Sexual Abuse and Absence Charges
Charges are listed for 47 of the 50 cases, and one case can be counted under several articles. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 8 cases (17%), compared with 10% for the year. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 6 cases (13%), compared with 8%.
Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 15 cases (32%), but that was lower than its 37% for the year. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was also lower, 15% compared with 19%. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 13 cases (28%), and Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) appeared in 8 (17%). Article 134 (general article) and Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 11% of cases each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 32% | 37% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 13 | 28% | 31% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 17% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 8 | 17% | 10% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 15% | 19% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 6 | 13% | 8% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 11% | 13% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 5 | 11% | 11% |
Convictions on Each Top Charge
Every Article 120b case ended in a conviction on that article (8 of 8). Those convictions had a median confinement of 3 years. Article 112a cases ended in a conviction on that article in 12 of 13 cases (92%), with a median confinement of 4 months.
Article 128 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 13 of 15 cases (87%), with a median confinement of 11 months. Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 7 of 8 cases, with a median of 3 months. A single case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 13 (87%) | 11 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 13 | 12 (92%) | 4 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 3 months |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 3 years |
Confinement About the Same as the Year
Of the 45 convictions, 87% included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, about the same as the median of 8 months for the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 2.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in a case.
Sentence lengths were close to the year. Sentences under 6 months made up 38% of convictions, compared with 37%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 24%, compared with 23%. Longer sentences were slightly less common: 18% were more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 20%, and 7% were 5 years or more, compared with 10%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 13% | 10% |
| Under 6 months | 17 | 38% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 11 | 24% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 18% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 7% | 10% |
General Courts-Martial Were Less Common
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 36% of the month (18 of 50), and special courts-martial made up the other 32 cases.
The 18 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 2.8 years. The special courts-martial had a median confinement of 4 months.
Few Pleas in the Records
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Only 16 of the 50 records here list one: 11 guilty pleas and 5 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A not-guilty or mixed plea makes a case contested. The contested share was 31%, compared with 26% for the year.
The Accused and Their Bases
Among the accused with rank recorded, 30 were junior enlisted, 14 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. That mix was similar to the year. Camp Pendleton, California, tried 11 cases, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 8. Bremerton, Washington, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 3 each, and MCAS Miramar, California, tried 2. Together these five account for 54% of the month.
Before the 2019 Changes
These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law's fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements did not apply to these cases. The records 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.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in March 2017 (50 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, February 2017: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, April 2017: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2017 (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.