What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in March 2019
The records show 40 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2019. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 29% of cases with charges listed, compared with 14% for all of 2019.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records show 40 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2019. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 29% of cases with charges listed, compared with 14% for all of 2019. Contested cases made up 43% of cases with a plea recorded, compared with 28% for the year, and 7 of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (58%).
Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common
The records list charges for 38 of the 40 cases, and each case is counted under every article it charged. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 11 cases (29%), compared with 14% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2019. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 6 cases (16%), compared with 8%.
Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 15 cases (39%), compared with 34%. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 10 cases (26%), slightly lower than the 30% for the year. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 16% of cases, compared with 11%, and Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) also appeared in 16%. Article 134 (general article) and Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 11% each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 39% | 34% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 29% | 14% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 26% | 30% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 6 | 16% | 8% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 6 | 16% | 11% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 16% | 17% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 11% | 12% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 11% | 10% |
Contested Cases and Verdicts
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Pleas are recorded in 28 of the 40 cases. Of those, 16 accused pleaded guilty and 12 contested at least one charge, a contested share of 43%.
Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 7 ended in a full acquittal (58%). That was slightly higher than the 55% for the year. A full acquittal means not guilty of every charge. 0 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of one charge and guilty of another. The contested share was 64% at general courts-martial and 21% at special courts-martial.
Conviction Rates by Charge
For the top charges, the records show how often the accused was convicted of that article. Article 112a cases ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 10 cases (80%). Those convictions had a median confinement of 6 months.
Article 128 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 11 of 15 cases (73%), with a median confinement of 1 year. Article 120 had the lowest rate, 7 of 11 cases (64%), with a median confinement of 1.6 years. A 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 | 11 (73%) | 1 year |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 11 | 7 (64%) | 1.6 years |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 8 (80%) | 6 months |
Longer Sentences Than the Year
Of 33 convictions, 30 included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.2 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.
Only 3 convictions (9%) had no confinement, compared with 18% for the year. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 27%, compared with 23%. Sentences longer than one year came in 9 of 33 convictions (27%), about the same as the 24% for the year. Of those, 2 (6%) were 5 years or more.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 9% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 36% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 27% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 21% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 6% | 5% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. The month had 19 general courts-martial and 21 special courts-martial. The general share was 48%, compared with 43% for the year.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 2 years. The special courts-martial had a median confinement of 4 months.
Punitive Discharges
Of 32 convicted enlisted members, 20 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (62%). That was about the same as the 60% for the year. Of those 20, 10 were dishonorable discharges. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Compared With March 2018
March 2018 had 52 cases, and March 2019 had 40. The contested share went from 41% to 43%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 11 to 7 of 12.
Convictions with confinement went from 80% to 91%, and the median confinement went from 8 months to 9 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 66% to 62%. General courts-martial went from 50% to 48%. A few cases can change percentages in groups this small, so these comparisons show direction, not precise change.
| March 2018 | March 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 52 | 40 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 41% | 43% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 11 | 7 of 12 |
| Convictions with confinement | 80% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 66% | 62% |
| General courts-martial | 50% | 48% |
Rank and Location
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 51% of the accused. NCOs made up 46%, and officers made up 3%. For the year, junior enlisted members made up 57%.
Camp Pendleton, California, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and San Diego, California, tried 6 cases each. Yokosuka, Japan, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 4 each. These five account for 65% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone says nothing about a particular base.
Limits of the Records
The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they do not show when the conduct took place. The records also do not include the evidence, plea terms, or cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
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 2019 (40 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 2019: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: 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.