Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, May 2025: The Month in Review
The records show 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in May 2025. Domestic violence under Article 128b appeared in 26% of cases, compared with 11% for all of 2025.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The records show 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in May 2025. Domestic violence under Article 128b appeared in 26% of cases, compared with 11% for all of 2025. The median confinement was 6 months, longer than the 4 months for the year, and only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested.
Domestic Violence Was One of the Most Common Charges
All 35 records list their charges, and each article is counted once per case. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 9 cases (26%), compared with 11% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2025. Article 134 (general article) and Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) also appeared in 9 cases each (26%). Their shares for the year were 21% and 24%.
Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 14% of cases, compared with 6% for the year. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 11%, compared with 7%. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) appeared in 9%, compared with 2%. Article 128 (assault) was less common, in 11% of cases compared with 16%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 26% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 26% | 24% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 26% | 11% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 5 | 14% | 6% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 11% | 16% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 3 | 9% | 2% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 2 | 6% | 3% |
Convictions by Article
Every case charging Article 128b or Article 92 ended in a conviction on that article, 9 of 9 each. Both had a median confinement of 6 months. Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 9 cases, with a median of 1.1 years.
A single case can include more than one of these articles and can end with a conviction on one and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 1.1 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 6 months |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 6 months |
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Of the 33 records with a plea, 25 show a guilty plea and 8 show a contested case, where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 24% was lower than the 37% for all of 2025. Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 of 8 ended in a full acquittal.
Confinement and Its Length
There were 33 convictions on at least one charge, and 24 of those sentences included confinement (73%). The median confinement was 6 months, longer than the 4 months for the Navy and Marine Corps across the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1 year or longer. All figures are adjudged sentences, counted before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in a case.
Sentences longer than one year came in 5 of 33 convictions (15%), about the same as the 16% for the year. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 21%, compared with 16%. Convictions with no confinement made up 27%, compared with 31%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 27% | 31% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 36% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 21% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 9% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 6% | 5% |
Sentences by Court Level
General courts-martial made up 13 of the 35 cases (37%), about the same as the 36% for 2025. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
At the general courts-martial, 91% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1 year. At the 22 special courts-martial, 64% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 3 months.
Discharges and Rank
Of 30 convicted enlisted members, 16 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (53%). That was higher than the 46% for the year. Of the 16, 5 were dishonorable discharges. The month also had 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Among the accused with rank recorded, 22 were junior enlisted, 8 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025.
Compared With May 2024
May 2024 had 45 cases, and May 2025 had 35. The median confinement was 6 months in both months. The contested share went from 36% to 24%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 16 to 1 of 8. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 60% to 53%, and general courts-martial went from 42% to 37%.
In groups this small, a few cases can change each figure, so the comparison shows direction only.
| May 2024 | May 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 45 | 35 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 36% | 24% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 16 | 1 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 75% | 73% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 60% | 53% |
| General courts-martial | 42% | 37% |
New Prosecution and Sentencing Rules
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.
Both rules depend on offense dates, and the records do not contain offense dates. Trials in 2025 can include cases under either set of rules. The records cannot show whether the changes affected any figure here.
Installations and Limits
Camp Pendleton, California, tried 8 cases, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 6. Yokosuka, Japan, tried 5, San Diego, California, tried 4, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 3. Together these five account for 74% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Offense dates, nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, 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 2025 (35 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, April 2025: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in June 2025 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: 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.