What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in September 2019
The records show 30 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2019. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 31% of them, compared with 12% for all of 2019. Contested cases were also more common: 36% of recorded pleas, compared with 28% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2019
Short answer: The records show 30 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2019. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 31% of them, compared with 12% for all of 2019. Contested cases were also more common: 36% of recorded pleas, compared with 28% for the year.
Article 134 Was Charged More Often
Charges are listed for 29 of the 30 cases, and an article is counted once per case even when several specifications fall under it. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 9 cases (31%), compared with 12% across the Navy and Marine Corps for the year.
Article 128 (assault) also appeared in 9 cases (31%), about the same as the 34% for the year. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) appeared in only 5 cases (17%), compared with 30% for 2019.
Some smaller articles appeared more often than across the year. Article 115 (malingering before 2019, communicating threats since) appeared in 2 cases (7%), compared with 3%. Article 90 (willfully disobeying superior officer) appeared in 2 cases (7%), compared with 2%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 31% | 12% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 31% | 34% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 17% | 30% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 10% | 11% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 10% | 14% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 10% | 17% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 2 | 7% | 3% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 2 | 7% | 2% |
Every Article 134 Case Ended in Conviction
All 9 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 1.5 years. Of the 9 cases charging Article 128, 7 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 4 months.
A single case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these counts overlap with each other and with the month's totals.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 1.5 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 4 months |
Contested Cases and Acquittals
Only 14 of the 30 records list a plea. Of those, 9 accused pleaded guilty and 5 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 36% was higher than the 28% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2019.
Of the 5 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 these figures cover only the cases where it was recorded.
Confinement and Its Length
The month had 26 convictions, and 81% of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median for the year. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1 year or longer.
Sentences longer than one year came in 5 of 26 convictions (19%), compared with 24% for 2019. 5 convictions (19%) had no confinement, about the same as the 18% for the year. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 19% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 35% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 27% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 15% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 4% | 5% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can impose any lawful punishment, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with a six-month cap and no punitive discharge.
The 11 general courts-martial made up 37% of the month, compared with 43% for the year. They had a median confinement of 1.5 years. The 19 special courts-martial had a median of 3 months. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the most serious one.
Punitive Discharges About the Same as the Year
A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge was part of 58% of enlisted convictions, about the same as the 60% for 2019. There were 10 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer 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.
Compared With September 2018
September 2018 had 25 cases, and September 2019 had 30. The contested share went from 43% to 36%. The median confinement was 6 months in both months.
Convictions with confinement went from 95% to 81%. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 71% to 58%, and general courts-martial went from 56% to 37% of cases. A few cases can change figures this small.
| September 2018 | September 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 25 | 30 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 43% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 6 | 4 of 5 |
| Convictions with confinement | 95% | 81% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 58% |
| General courts-martial | 56% | 37% |
Rank and Location
Among the accused with rank recorded, 18 were junior enlisted, 10 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019.
Norfolk, Virginia, tried 5 cases. Camp Pendleton, California, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 4 each. San Diego, California, tried 3, and Parris Island, South Carolina, tried 2. These 5 places account for 60% of the 30 cases. 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
The records give trial dates only, so the dates of the offenses are unknown. The evidence, plea terms, and cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
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 2019 (30 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)
- August 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 34 Cases (previous / next)
- October 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 52 Cases (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: 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
- 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.