March 2021 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 46 Cases
The records show 46 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2021. Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 26% for all of 2021.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records show 46 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2021. Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 26% for all of 2021. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year were more common than across the year: 39% of the 38 convictions, compared with 26%.
Acquittals in Contested Cases
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, through a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal. Another 3 ended in a partial acquittal (19%), meaning the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
The full acquittal rate of 38% was higher than the 26% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2021. With only 16 verdicts, a few cases could change that rate a great deal.
Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases
Pleas appear in 44 of the 46 records: 28 guilty pleas and 16 contested cases. The contested share was 36%, compared with 32% for the year.
Guilty pleas differed by charge. Cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea 77% of the time (10 of 13), the highest among the top charges. Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 47% of the time (7 of 15). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
The contested share also differed by court level: 58% at general courts-martial and 20% at special courts-martial.
Convictions on the Most Common Articles
All 13 cases charging Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article (100%), with a median confinement of 7 months. Article 128 (assault) cases ended in a conviction on that article in 10 of 15 cases (67%), with a median confinement of 11 months.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) cases ended in a conviction on that article in 6 of 9 cases, with a median confinement of 1.3 years. One 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 | 10 (67%) | 11 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 13 | 13 (100%) | 7 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 9 | 6 (6 of 9) | 1.3 years |
Which Charges Appeared
The records list charges for 44 of the 46 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 15 cases (34%), about the same as its 32% for the year. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 13 cases (30%), compared with 25%. Article 120 appeared in 9 cases (20%), compared with 19%.
Article 134 (general article) was less common, in 16% of cases compared with 26%. Article 129 (burglary; unlawful entry) appeared in 4 cases (9%), compared with 4%. Article 80 (attempts), Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), and Article 121 (larceny) complete the list.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 34% | 32% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 13 | 30% | 25% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 9 | 20% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 16% | 26% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 11% | 13% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 9% | 9% |
| Art. 129 Burglary; unlawful entry | 4 | 9% | 4% |
Most Sentences Were 6 Months to 1 Year
Of 38 convictions, 35 included confinement. Only 3 (8%) had no confinement, compared with 15% for 2021. The median confinement was 7 months, the same as the 7 months for the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.1 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in its case.
Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 15 convictions (39%). Sentences longer than one year came in 9 of 38 convictions (24%), about the same as the 26% for the year. Of the 38 convictions, 3 (8%) were 5 years or more, compared with 5%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 8% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 29% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 15 | 39% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 16% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 8% | 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 20 general courts-martial and 26 special courts-martial. The general share was 43%, compared with 48% for the year.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.1 years. The special courts-martial had a median confinement of 5 months.
Punitive Discharges at the Same Rate as the Year
Of 36 convicted enlisted members, 23 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (64%), the same as the 64% for the year. Of those 23, 6 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.
Changes From March 2020
March 2020 had 29 cases, and March 2021 had 46. Few pleas were recorded a year earlier, and 2 of the 8 recorded pleas were contested. This month, the contested share was 36%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 1 of 2 to 6 of 16.
The median confinement went from 10 months to 7 months. Convictions with confinement went from 85% to 92%. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 69% to 64%, and general courts-martial went from 41% to 43%. A few cases can change percentages in groups this small, so these comparisons show direction, not precise change.
| March 2020 | March 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 29 | 46 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 2 of 8 | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 2 | 6 of 16 |
| Convictions with confinement | 85% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 10 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 69% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 41% | 43% |
Rank, Location, and Limits
Among the accused with rank recorded, 28 were junior enlisted, 13 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. The group was more senior than the year. Camp Pendleton, California, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 6 cases each. Washington, D.C., tried 5, and San Diego, California, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 4 each. Together these five account for 54% of the month.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They 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 2021 (46 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 2021: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in April 2021 (previous / next)
- How 2021 Went at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial (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.