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# What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in September 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-september-2017/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:09:22.000Z
- Description: The records show 46 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2017. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 49% of cases, compared with 37% for all of 2017.
- 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/) › September 2017

**Short answer:** The records show 46 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2017\. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 49% of cases, compared with 37% for all of 2017\. Drug charges were less common than across the year, and 59% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, lower than the 68% for the year.

Based on 46 cases · September 2017 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Assault Was the Most Common Charge

Of the 46 cases, 45 have a charge list in the records, and a single case can be counted under several articles. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 22 of them (49%), higher than the 37% across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017.

Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) was also more common than across the year, in 11% of cases compared with 3%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 9 cases (20%), about the same as the 19% for the year.

Drug charges were less common. Article 112a appeared in 7 cases (16%), compared with 31% for the year. Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 4 cases (9%), about the same as the 8% for the year.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 22    | 49%        | 37%                                              |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 9     | 20%        | 19%                                              |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 7     | 16%        | 16%                                              |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 7     | 16%        | 13%                                              |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7     | 16%        | 31%                                              |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 6     | 13%        | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 120c](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120c/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Other sexual misconduct                 | 5     | 11%        | 3%                                               |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy                                                                                                                                 | 4     | 9%         | 8%                                               |

## Convictions on the Charged Article

A charge on an article does not always end in a conviction on that article. Of the 22 cases charging Article 128, 20 (91%) ended in a conviction on that article. Those convictions had a median confinement of 8 months.

Article 120 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 7 of 9 cases. The median confinement for those convictions was 8 years. One case can end in a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap and do not add up to the month's totals.

| Article                          | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 128 Assault                 | 22                | 20 (91%)                | 8 months                                |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 9                 | 7 (7 of 9)              | 8 years                                 |

## Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Year

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge was part of 59% of enlisted convictions in September 2017\. The rate for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2017 was 68%. This month there were 15 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges.

For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal. The records show 2 convicted officers or warrant officers this month, and both were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.

## How Much Confinement?

Of the 46 cases, 41 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those 41 sentences, 36 included confinement (88%). The median confinement was 7 months, slightly shorter than the 8 months for the full year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.2 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, recorded at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in a case, not a single offense.

## Long Sentences and Court Level

Sentences longer than one year came in 9 of 41 convictions (22%), lower than the 31% for 2017\. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 5 convictions (12%), compared with 20% for the year. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 4 convictions (10%), the same as the 10% for the year.

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 18 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.8 years, and the 28 special courts-martial had a median of 4 months. The contested share was 36% at the general courts-martial and 17% at the special courts-martial.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 5           | 12%        | 10%                                              |
| Under 6 months                  | 16          | 39%        | 37%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 11          | 27%        | 23%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5           | 12%        | 20%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 10%        | 10%                                              |

## More Guilty Pleas Than Contested Cases

Only 23 of the 46 records list a plea. Of those, 17 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 26% was the same as the 26% for all of 2017.

Of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these counts are based only on the records that include it.

## September 2016 Compared With September 2017

The number of cases went from 21 in September 2016 to 46 in September 2017\. The median confinement went from 6 months to 7 months. The contested share went from 20% to 26%.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 75% to 59%. The general court-martial share went from 48% to 39%. Monthly groups are small, and a few cases can change these figures, so they show direction more than precise change.

|                                     | September 2016 | September 2017 |
| ----------------------------------- | -------------- | -------------- |
| Cases                               | 21             | 46             |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 20%            | 26%            |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 4         | 3 of 6         |
| Convictions with confinement        | 95%            | 88%            |
| Median confinement                  | 6 months       | 7 months       |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 75%            | 59%            |
| General courts-martial              | 48%            | 39%            |

## Rank and Installations

Among the accused with rank recorded, 27 were junior enlisted, 15 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. The group was more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2017\. General courts-martial made up 39% of cases (18 of 46).

Camp Pendleton, California, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 7 cases each. Bremerton, Washington, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 5 each, and San Diego, California, tried 3\. These 5 locations account for 59% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone says little about any one base.

## Earlier Rules and Missing Details

All of these trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. Fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements came later and did not apply to these cases.

The records show only cases that reached a court-martial, listed by trial date rather than offense date. Cases closed by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records also do not include the evidence or any 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 September 2017 (46 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)
- [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, October 2017: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-october-2017/) (previous / next)
- [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2017-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 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: [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, October 2017: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-october-2017/) →

**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.