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# March 2023 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-march-2023/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:14:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:10:26.000Z
- Description: The records show 37 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2023. The median confinement was 4 months, lower than the 6 months for all of 2023, but 8 of 30 convictions (27%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 23% 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/) › March 2023

**Short answer:** The records show 37 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2023\. The median confinement was 4 months, lower than the 6 months for all of 2023, but 8 of 30 convictions (27%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 23% for the year. Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal.

Based on 37 cases · March 2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Many Short Sentences and Some Long Ones

Of the 30 convictions, 83% included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the median of 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps for 2023\. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.5 years or longer. The sentences counted here are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Long sentences were slightly more common than across the year. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 20% of convictions, compared with 19%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 7%, compared with 4%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 13%, compared with 23%. Sentences under 6 months made up 43%, compared with 33%.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 5           | 17%        | 21%                                              |
| Under 6 months                  | 13          | 43%        | 33%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 4           | 13%        | 23%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6           | 20%        | 19%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 2           | 7%         | 4%                                               |

## General Versus Special Courts-Martial

Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. The month had 15 general courts-martial (41%), compared with 46% for the year, and 22 special courts-martial.

The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 2 years, and 46% were contested. The special courts-martial had a median confinement of 3 months, and 25% were contested.

## The General Article and Guilty Pleas

Charges are listed for 34 of the 37 cases, with one row per article in each case. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 10 cases (29%), higher than its 22% for the year. Article 128 (assault) also appeared in 10 cases (29%), compared with 26%.

Guilty pleas differed between these 2 articles. Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 90% of the time (9 of 10), the highest among the top charges. Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 50% of the time (5 of 10). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.

Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) appeared in 15% of cases, and Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) in 12%. Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 107 (false official statements), and Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 9% each. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 6%.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                  | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                              | 10    | 29%        | 26%                                              |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                      | 10    | 29%        | 22%                                              |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation    | 5     | 15%        | 18%                                              |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                       | 4     | 12%        | 11%                                              |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                        | 3     | 9%         | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements            | 3     | 9%         | 6%                                               |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                              | 3     | 9%         | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2     | 6%         | 5%                                               |

## Convictions on Assault and General Article Charges

Every Article 134 case ended in a conviction on that article (10 of 10), with a median confinement of 6 months. Article 128 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 10 cases (80%), with a median confinement of 4 months. 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         | 10                | 8 (80%)                 | 4 months                                |
| Art. 134 General article | 10                | 10 (100%)               | 6 months                                |

## Contested Cases and Acquittals

Pleas are recorded in 33 of the 37 cases: 22 guilty pleas and 11 not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 33%, about the same as the 32% for the year.

Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. 1 ended with a not-guilty finding on some charges and a guilty finding on others. The full acquittal rate of 27% was higher than the 22% for 2023.

## Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge was part of 60% of enlisted convictions: 13 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. The share across 2023 was 63%. A sentence without one does not rule out an administrative separation later.

## Few Changes From March 2022

March 2022 had 38 cases, and March 2023 had 37\. The median confinement was 4 months in both months. Convictions with confinement went from 82% to 83%, and punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 61% to 60%.

The contested share went from 27% to 33%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 10 to 3 of 11\. General courts-martial went from 34% to 41% of cases. Monthly groups are small, and a change of a few cases moves the percentages, so read these as direction only.

|                                     | March 2022 | March 2023 |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------- |
| Cases                               | 38         | 37         |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 27%        | 33%        |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 10    | 3 of 11    |
| Convictions with confinement        | 82%        | 83%        |
| Median confinement                  | 4 months   | 4 months   |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 61%        | 60%        |
| General courts-martial              | 34%        | 41%        |

## The Accused and the Bases

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 64% of the accused, and NCOs made up 36%. There were no officers. The mix was about the same as the year, when 65% were junior enlisted.

Bremerton, Washington, tried the most cases, 6\. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Camp Pendleton, California, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 4 each, and San Diego, California, tried 3\. These five account for 57% of the month.

## What Is Not in the Records

Only cases that reached a court-martial are included. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases dropped without action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or plea terms.

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 March 2023 (37 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)
- [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2023/) (previous / next)
- [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in April 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2023/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2023-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 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/)
- [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)

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**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.