Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, September 2023: The Month in Review
The median confinement in the 22 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial of September 2023 was 1 year, compared with 6 months for all of 2023. Domestic violence under Article 128b was charged in 25% of cases, compared with 10% for the year, and 45% of recorded pleas were contested.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2023
Short answer: The median confinement in the 22 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial of September 2023 was 1 year, compared with 6 months for all of 2023. Domestic violence under Article 128b was charged in 25% of cases, compared with 10% for the year, and 45% of recorded pleas were contested.
Sentences Were Longer Than in the Year
Of the 22 cases, 19 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Confinement was part of 17 of those sentences (89%). The median confinement was 1 year, longer than the 6 months for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2023. A quarter of the sentences were 1.1 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences: the sentence announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge on which the accused was convicted, not only the most serious.
Domestic Violence and False Statements Were Charged More Often
Charges are listed for 20 of the 22 cases, and a case can count under several articles. Article 128b, domestic violence, was charged in 5 cases (25%), compared with 10% for the year. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 6 cases (30%), about the same as the 26% for the year.
Article 107, false official statements, was charged in 4 cases (20%), compared with 6% for 2023. Larceny under Article 121 was also charged in 4 cases (20%), compared with 10%. AWOL under Article 86 was charged in 3 cases (15%), compared with 4%.
Article 134, the general article, was charged less often: 2 cases (10%), compared with 22% for the year. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 3 cases (15%), about the same as the 13% for the year.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 30% | 26% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 25% | 10% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 20% | 6% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 20% | 10% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 20% | 18% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 15% | 4% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 15% | 13% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 10% | 22% |
45% of Cases With a Plea Were Contested
A plea is recorded in 20 of the 22 cases. Of those, 11 accused pleaded guilty. The other 9 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, which makes a case contested. The contested share was 45%, compared with 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps for the year.
Of the 9 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal. A partial acquittal means not guilty of some charges but guilty of others. It still counts as a conviction here.
More General Courts-Martial Than Special Courts-Martial
The month had 12 general and 10 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 55%, higher than the 46% for 2023. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial tried by a military judge alone is capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.1 years. The special courts-martial had a median of 7 months.
Punitive Discharges in 71% of Enlisted Convictions
Of 17 convicted enlisted members, 12 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (71%). The share for the year was 63%. Of those 12 discharges, 4 were dishonorable.
The month had 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
September 2022 Compared With September 2023
Cases fell from 26 to 22. The contested share rose from 30% to 45%. Median confinement rose from 10 months to 1 year.
Convictions with confinement rose from 77% to 89%. Enlisted punitive discharges rose from 62% to 71%. The general court-martial share rose from 46% to 55%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 7 to 1 of 9. Monthly groups this small can change a great deal with a few cases.
| September 2022 | September 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 26 | 22 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 30% | 45% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 7 | 1 of 9 |
| Convictions with confinement | 77% | 89% |
| Median confinement | 10 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 62% | 71% |
| General courts-martial | 46% | 55% |
Rank of the Accused
Among the accused with rank recorded, 12 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 5 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. That mix is similar to the year, when 65% of the accused were junior enlisted. Junior enlisted members were the largest group this month, and NCOs were the second largest.
Installations
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, and Camp Pendleton, California, each tried 3 cases. Twentynine Palms, California, Great Lakes, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., each tried 2. Together these 5 locations account for 55% of the month. Their counts mostly reflect how many people serve there. A high count at one base does not, by itself, mean that base has a problem with any particular offense.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence or any plea terms. Misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is 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 2023 (22 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 2023 (previous / next)
- October 2023 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 26 Cases (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2023: 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.