What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in November 2022
The records show 33 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in November 2022. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 16% of them, compared with 7% for all of 2022. Punitive discharges were also more common: 72% of convicted enlisted members received one, compared with 64% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › November 2022
Short answer: The records show 33 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in November 2022. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 16% of them, compared with 7% for all of 2022. Punitive discharges were also more common: 72% of convicted enlisted members received one, compared with 64% for the year.
Larceny and the General Article Were More Common
Charges are listed for 31 of the 33 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 5 cases (16%), compared with 7% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2022. Article 134 (general article) was the most common charge, in 8 cases (26%), compared with 20%.
Some less common charges also appeared more often than across the year. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 85 (desertion) each appeared in 10% of cases, compared with 3%. Article 115 (communicating threats) appeared in 6%, compared with 2%. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) was less common, 10% compared with 22%. Article 128 (assault) was slightly less common, 19% compared with 23%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 26% | 20% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 19% | 23% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 16% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 16% | 18% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 10% | 22% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 3 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 2 | 6% | 2% |
More Punitive Discharges
Of 29 convicted enlisted members, 21 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (72%). That was higher than the 64% for 2022. Of those 21, 5 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.
No Full Acquittals in Contested Cases
Pleas are listed for 31 cases: 23 guilty pleas and 8 contested cases. The contested share of 26% was lower than the 33% for 2022.
The comparison table shows that none of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. In November 2021, 2 of 9 did.
A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. With 0 full acquittals, every contested case that reached a verdict this month ended with a conviction on at least one charge.
Most Sentences Were Under 1 Year
Of 31 convictions, 27 included confinement (87%). The median confinement was 5 months, about the same as the 6 months for the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 11 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set 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 5 of 31 convictions (16%), less often than the 20% for 2022. No sentence was 5 years or more. Sentences under 6 months made up 45% of convictions, compared with 38%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 13% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 45% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 26% | 25% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 16% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 4% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
There were 14 general courts-martial (42%), the same share as the year, and 19 special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.
At the general courts-martial, 85% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1 year. At the special courts-martial, 89% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 3 months.
Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement, so the 5 sentences over one year came from general courts-martial. The special courts-martial had shorter sentences and a higher rate of confinement.
A More Junior Group
Among the accused with rank recorded, 22 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 7 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. The group was more junior than the year, when 65% of the accused were junior enlisted.
The share of general courts-martial was 42%, the same as the year, even though the group of accused was more junior.
November 2021 to November 2022
The number of cases went from 31 to 33. The median confinement went from 6 months to 5 months, and punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 70% to 72%. The contested share went from 31% to 26%, and general courts-martial went from 55% to 42% of cases.
These are small groups, and a few cases can change any of the figures, so the comparison shows direction only.
| November 2021 | November 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 31 | 33 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 31% | 26% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 9 | 0 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 85% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 70% | 72% |
| General courts-martial | 55% | 42% |
Where the Cases Were Tried
San Diego, California, Norfolk, Virginia, and Camp Pendleton, California, tried 6 cases each. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 4, and Okinawa, Japan, tried 3. Together these locations account for 76% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone says nothing about a particular base.
What the Records Do Not Show
Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not include the evidence, plea terms, offense dates, or anything handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
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 November 2022 (33 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)
- October 2022 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in December 2022 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2022: 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.