Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, September 2018: The Month in Review
The records show 25 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2018. Of those with a recorded plea, 43% were contested, compared with 28% for all of 2018. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 16% for the year.
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Trends › By Year › September 2018
Short answer: The records show 25 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2018. Of those with a recorded plea, 43% were contested, compared with 28% for all of 2018. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 25% of cases, compared with 16% for the year.
More Contested Cases
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, through a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. Of the 25 records, only 14 list a plea: 8 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested.
The contested share was 43%, higher than the 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2018. Of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea, so the share is based only on the cases that record it.
Sexual Offenses Were Charged More Often
Charges are listed for 24 of the 25 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 6 cases (25%), compared with 16% for the year. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 4 cases (17%), compared with 10%.
Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 8 cases (33%), about the same as the 34% for the year. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in 5 cases (21%), lower than the 26% for 2018.
Article 121 (larceny) and Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 4 cases each (17%), compared with 11% and 9% for the year. Article 134 (general article) and Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 2 cases each (8%).
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 33% | 34% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 25% | 16% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 21% | 26% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 17% | 11% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 17% | 10% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 4 | 17% | 9% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 8% | 15% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 8% | 11% |
Almost Every Conviction Included Confinement
There were 19 cases that ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those 19 sentences, 18 included confinement (95%). The median confinement was 6 months, slightly shorter than the 7 months for the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.5 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences: the sentence imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge on which the accused was convicted.
More General Courts-Martial Than the Year
General courts-martial made up 14 of the 25 cases (56%), compared with 45% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2018. Those 14 trials had a median confinement of 1.1 years. The 11 special courts-martial had a median of 3 months.
A special court-martial cannot impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.
More Punitive Discharges Than the Year
A punitive discharge was part of 71% of enlisted convictions, compared with 66% for 2018. There were 7 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges.
The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
What Changed From September 2017
September 2017 had 46 cases, and September 2018 had 25. The contested share went from 26% to 43%. The general court-martial share went from 39% to 56%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 6 to 4 of 6.
Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 59% to 71%, and convictions with confinement went from 88% to 95%. The median confinement went from 7 months to 6 months. With monthly counts this small, a few cases can change any of these figures.
| September 2017 | September 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 46 | 25 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 26% | 43% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 6 | 4 of 6 |
| Convictions with confinement | 88% | 95% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 59% | 71% |
| General courts-martial | 39% | 56% |
Who Was Tried, and Where
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 52% of the accused. NCOs made up 35%, and officers made up 13%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2018, junior enlisted members made up 61%, so this month's group was more senior.
Camp Pendleton, California, tried the most cases, 5. San Diego, California, tried 4, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 3. Twentynine Palms, California, and Washington, D.C., tried 2 each. Together these five account for 64% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem at a base.
Before the 2019 Changes
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Its fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements did not apply to these trials.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not in these records. Many Navy and Marine Corps records from this period omit the plea, so the plea figures cover only part of the month.
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 September 2018 (25 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 August 2018 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, October 2018: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2018 (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.