Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, September 2021: The Month in Review
Article 92 orders violations were charged in 34% of the 34 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2021, compared with 21% for all of 2021. Fewer cases were contested than usual: 26% of recorded pleas, compared with 32% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2021
Short answer: Article 92 orders violations were charged in 34% of the 34 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2021, compared with 21% for all of 2021. Fewer cases were contested than usual: 26% of recorded pleas, compared with 32% for the year.
Article 92 Charges Were More Common Than in the Year
The charges are listed for 32 of the 34 cases, and each article counts only once per case. Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, was charged in 11 cases (34%). The share for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2021 was 21%.
Conspiracy under Article 81 was also more common than usual: 6 cases (19%), compared with 11%. Article 115, communicating threats, was charged in 4 cases (12%), compared with 6%. Article 134, the general article, was less common: 19%, compared with 26%.
Assault under Article 128 was the most common article: 12 cases (38%), compared with 32% for 2021. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 9 cases (28%). Article 120, rape and sexual assault, was in 6 cases (19%), the same share as for the year.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 38% | 32% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 34% | 21% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 28% | 25% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 6 | 19% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 19% | 26% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 19% | 19% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 4 | 12% | 6% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 12% | 10% |
Convictions on the Most Common Articles
Every case charging one of the most common articles ended in a conviction on that article. All 12 assault cases ended in a conviction for assault, and the median confinement for those convictions was 9 months. All 11 cases charging Article 92 ended in a conviction, with a median of 5 months. All 9 drug cases did as well, with a median of 4 months.
These medians reflect the full sentence in each case, which can include other charges as well.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 12 (100%) | 9 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 11 (100%) | 5 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 4 months |
Most of the Accused Pleaded Guilty
A plea is recorded in 31 of the 34 cases. Of those, 23 accused pleaded guilty. The other 8 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, which makes a case contested. The contested share was 26%, lower than the 32% for the year.
The records do not explain why an accused pleaded guilty or not guilty. They also do not show the terms of any plea agreement. Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal.
A Shorter Median and Fewer Long Sentences
There were 31 convictions on at least one charge, and 25 of those sentences included confinement (81%). The median confinement was 6 months. For the Navy and Marine Corps in 2021, it was 7 months. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 6 of 31 convictions (19%), compared with 26% for the year. No sentence was 5 years or more. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were more common than usual: 32%, compared with 26%. All of these are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 19% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 29% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 32% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 19% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% |
Contested Cases by Court Level
There were 13 general courts-martial (38%) and 21 special courts-martial. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.1 years, and 45% of them were contested. The special courts-martial had a median of 5 months, and 15% of them were contested.
Punitive Discharges
A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge followed 61% of enlisted convictions. The share for the year was 64%. The month had 15 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges.
A member without a punitive discharge can still face an administrative separation after the court-martial ends. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge, and 13 of the month's cases were tried at that level.
Compared With September 2020
There were 37 cases in September 2020 and 34 in September 2021. The contested share fell from 37% to 26%. Median confinement went from 7 months to 6 months.
Punitive discharges for enlisted members rose from 56% to 61%. General courts-martial rose from 32% to 38% of cases. Each month is a small group, and a few cases can change these figures noticeably.
| September 2020 | September 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 37 | 34 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 37% | 26% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 7 | 1 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 81% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 56% | 61% |
| General courts-martial | 32% | 38% |
Rank and Location
Among the accused with rank recorded, 21 were junior enlisted and 11 were NCOs. None were officers. The group was more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2021.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 8 cases, the most of any location. San Diego, California, tried 4. Great Lakes, Illinois, Norfolk, Virginia, and Okinawa, Japan, each tried 3. Together these 5 locations account for 62% of the month. Large installations try more cases of all kinds.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, any plea terms, or misconduct handled outside a court-martial.
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 2021 (34 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 2021 (previous / next)
- What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in October 2021 (previous / next)
- How 2021 Went at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial (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.