Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, May 2021: The Month in Review
The records show 47 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in May 2021. Full acquittals were more common than across the year: 6 of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict (38%), compared with 26% for all of 2021.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records show 47 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in May 2021. Full acquittals were more common than across the year: 6 of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict (38%), compared with 26% for all of 2021. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 31% of cases, compared with 26% for the year.
More Full Acquittals Than the Year
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict in May 2021, 6 ended in a full acquittal (38%). That was higher than the 26% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2021.
Another 2 contested cases (12%) ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal is a not-guilty finding on at least one charge or specification and a conviction on another.
Slightly More Contested Cases
Pleas are recorded for 45 of the 47 cases. Of those, 29 accused pleaded guilty and 16 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 36%, slightly higher than the 32% for the year.
Guilty pleas differed by charge. Cases charging Article 128 (assault) ended in a guilty plea 57% of the time (8 of 14). Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 50% of the time (7 of 14). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
The General Article Was Charged More Often
Charges are listed for 45 of the 47 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 134 (general article) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 14 cases (31%). The share for the year was 26% for the general article and 32% for assault.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was less common than across the year, 11% compared with 19%. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) was also less common, 20% compared with 25%. Article 90 (willfully disobeying superior officer) appeared in 9% of cases, compared with 5%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 14 | 31% | 26% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 31% | 32% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 20% | 21% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 20% | 25% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 11% | 13% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 11% | 19% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 4 | 9% | 5% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 9% | 10% |
Conviction Rates by Charge
Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 13 of 14 cases (93%), with a median confinement of 9 months. Article 128 had the lowest conviction rate of the top charges: 9 of 14 cases (64%) ended in a conviction on that article. Those convictions also had a median confinement of 9 months.
Article 92 and Article 112a cases each ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 9 cases. Their median confinement was 7 months and 10 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. 134 General article | 14 | 13 (93%) | 9 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 9 (64%) | 9 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 7 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 10 months |
Sentences About the Same as the Year
Of 39 convictions, 85% included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 7 months for 2021. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.5 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.
Sentences longer than one year came in 10 of 39 convictions (26%), the same share as the year. Every sentence-length group in the table, from no confinement (15%) to 5 years or more (5%), had the same share as the year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 15% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 13 | 33% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 26% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 21% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 5% | 5% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
The month had 24 general courts-martial and 23 special courts-martial. The general share was 51%, compared with 48% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
At the general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.5 years, and 52% of cases were contested. At the special courts-martial, the median confinement was 5 months, and 18% of cases were contested.
Discharges and the Accused
Of 36 convicted enlisted members, 23 received a punitive discharge: 15 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges. That 64% was the same as the share for 2021. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.
Among the accused with rank recorded, 29 were junior enlisted, 12 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. That mix was similar to the year.
May 2020 to May 2021
May 2020 had 35 cases, and May 2021 had 47. The contested share went from 8% to 36%. The median confinement went from 9 months to 8 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 71% to 64%, and convictions with confinement went from 97% to 85%. General courts-martial went from 43% to 51%.
Monthly figures can change with a few cases, so these comparisons show direction rather than precise change.
| May 2020 | May 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 35 | 47 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 8% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 1 | 6 of 16 |
| Convictions with confinement | 97% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 9 months | 8 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 43% | 51% |
Locations and Limits
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 8 cases, and Camp Pendleton, California, tried 7. Mayport, Florida, Norfolk, Virginia, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, tried 4 each. Together these five account for 57% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, offense dates, the evidence, and plea terms are not in these records.
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 May 2021 (47 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)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in April 2021 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, June 2021: The Month in Review (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.