> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, March 2025: The Month in Review - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-march-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:08.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:10:35.000Z - Description: The records show 31 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2025. Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (42%), compared with 27% for all of 2025. - 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 2025 **Short answer:** The records show 31 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in March 2025\. Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (42%), compared with 27% for all of 2025\. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) was the most common charge, in 39% of cases, compared with 24% for the year. Based on 31 cases · March 2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Full Acquittals Than the Year A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, so the court decides guilt on the evidence. Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict this month, 5 ended in a full acquittal. Another 3 ended in a partial acquittal (25%), meaning a not-guilty finding on at least one charge or specification and a guilty finding on another. The full acquittal rate of 42% was higher than the 27% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2025\. With only 12 verdicts, a single case could change the rate a good deal. ## Pleas Recorded for 29 Cases The plea appears in 29 of the 31 records: 17 guilty pleas and 12 contested cases. The contested share was 41%, compared with 37% for the year. The contested share was about the same at both court levels: 45% at general courts-martial and 39% at special courts-martial. The records show the plea, but not the terms of any plea agreement. ## Failure to Obey Orders Was the Most Common Charge All 31 records list charges, and each article is counted once per case. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) appeared in 12 cases (39%), compared with 24% for 2025. Several other articles were also more common than across the year. Article 121 (larceny), Article 107 (false official statements), and Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 4 cases each (13%). Their shares for the year were 8%, 7%, and 10%. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) appeared in 2 cases (6%), compared with 2%. Article 86 (AWOL) also appeared in 2 cases, compared with 4%. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 19% of cases, about the same as its 21%. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 16%, the same as the year. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 12 | 39% | 24% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 6 | 19% | 21% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 5 | 16% | 16% | | [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny | 4 | 13% | 8% | | [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements | 4 | 13% | 7% | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 13% | 10% | | Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 6% | 2% | | [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL | 2 | 6% | 4% | ## Sentences After Conviction Of 25 convictions, 17 included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the 4 months for the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 6 months 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. Convictions with no confinement made up 32%, compared with 31%. Sentences under 6 months made up 36%, compared with 37%. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 20%, compared with 16%. Sentences longer than one year came in 3 of 25 convictions (12%), less often than the 16% for the year. No sentence was 5 years or more. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 8 | 32% | 31% | | Under 6 months | 9 | 36% | 37% | | 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 20% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 12% | 11% | | 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% | ## Court Level and Sentence Length Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 12 of the 31 cases (39%), compared with 36% for the year. The 12 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years. The median for all convictions in the month was 4 months. The 19 special courts-martial, which are capped at one year, had a median confinement of 3 months. ## Punitive Discharges and Dismissals A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge was part of 41% of enlisted convictions: 8 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The share across 2025 was 46%. 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 2024 March 2024 had 34 cases, and March 2025 had 31\. The contested share went from 48% to 41%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 15 to 5 of 12. Convictions with confinement went from 61% to 68%. The median confinement went from 6 months to 4 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 46% to 41%, and general courts-martial went from 50% to 39%. Because these groups are small, the comparisons show direction rather than precise change. | | March 2024 | March 2025 | | ----------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Cases | 34 | 31 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 48% | 41% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 15 | 5 of 12 | | Convictions with confinement | 61% | 68% | | Median confinement | 6 months | 4 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 46% | 41% | | General courts-martial | 50% | 39% | ## Rank and Installations Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 50% of the accused. NCOs made up 46%, and officers made up 4%. For the year, junior enlisted members made up 62%, so this month's group was more senior. Camp Pendleton, California, tried 6 cases. Bremerton, Washington, and Great Lakes, Illinois, tried 4 each. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 3 each. These five account for 65% of the month. ## Rule Changes and Record Limits Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023\. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so this month includes cases under both the old and new rules. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in March 2025 (31 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 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2025/) (previous / next) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, April 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2025/) (previous / next) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2025-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) ← Previous: [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in February 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2025/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, April 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2025/) → **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.