> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in September 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-september-2024/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:02.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:10:33.000Z - Description: Most of the 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2024 ended in guilty pleas: only 24% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 34% for all of 2024. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 5 months for the year. - 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 2024 **Short answer:** Most of the 35 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in September 2024 ended in guilty pleas: only 24% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 34% for all of 2024\. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 5 months for the year. Based on 35 cases · September 2024 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Most Accused Pleaded Guilty A plea is recorded in 34 of the 35 cases. Of those, 26 accused pleaded guilty. The other 8 pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, which makes a case contested. The contested share was 24%, lower than the 34% across the Navy and Marine Corps for the year. Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. In September 2023, the figure was 1 of 9\. A partial acquittal means not guilty of one charge but guilty of another. It still counts here as a conviction. ## Short Sentences Were Common There were 31 convictions on at least one charge, and 81% of them included confinement. Half of those sentences were 4 months or less. The median for 2024 was 5 months. Sentences under 6 months made up 14 convictions (45%), compared with 38% for the year. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 5 of 31 convictions (16%), compared with 22%. Of those, 3 were more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 2 were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover all charges in a case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2024 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 6 | 19% | 25% | | Under 6 months | 14 | 45% | 38% | | 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 19% | 15% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 10% | 15% | | 5 years or more | 2 | 6% | 7% | ## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial General courts-martial made up 12 of the 35 cases (34%). Special courts-martial made up the other 23\. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years, and 18% were contested. The special courts-martial had a median of 2 months, and 26% were contested. Since 2019, a special court-martial tried by a military judge alone is capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge. ## Which Articles Were Charged? All 35 records list the charges, with each article counted once per case. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 9 cases (26%). That was the most of any article and higher than the 22% for 2024. Domestic violence under Article 128b was charged in 6 cases (17%), compared with 13%. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 14% of cases, the same as the year. Assault under Article 128 and orders violations under Article 92 were each charged in 4 cases (11%), lower than the 16% for the year. 3 smaller articles were charged more often than in the year. Article 90, willfully disobeying a superior officer, and Article 81, conspiracy, were each charged in 3 cases (9%). Article 93a, prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee, was charged in 2 cases (6%), compared with 1%. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2024 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 9 | 26% | 22% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 6 | 17% | 13% | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 14% | 14% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 4 | 11% | 16% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 11% | 16% | | [Art. 90](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-90/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Willfully disobeying superior officer | 3 | 9% | 4% | | Art. 81 Conspiracy | 3 | 9% | 3% | | Art. 93a Prohibited activities with recruit or trainee | 2 | 6% | 1% | ## Punitive Discharges for Enlisted Members Of 29 convicted enlisted members, 17 received a punitive discharge: 11 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. That share, 59%, is about the same as the 58% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024. An enlisted member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still be separated administratively after the trial. ## Changes From September 2023 Cases rose from 22 to 35\. The contested share fell from 45% to 24%. Median confinement fell from 1 year to 4 months. General courts-martial fell from 55% to 34% of cases. Enlisted punitive discharges fell from 71% to 59%. Convictions with confinement fell from 89% to 81%. In groups this small, a few cases can cause large changes, so the comparison shows direction only. | | September 2023 | September 2024 | | ----------------------------------- | -------------- | -------------- | | Cases | 22 | 35 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 45% | 24% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 9 | 3 of 8 | | Convictions with confinement | 89% | 81% | | Median confinement | 1 year | 4 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 59% | | General courts-martial | 55% | 34% | ## Rank and Location Among the accused with rank recorded, 19 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 12 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). None were officers or warrant officers. Junior enlisted members made up 58% of the accused for the year, so this month was more junior. San Diego, California, tried 7 cases, and Camp Pendleton, California, tried 6\. Norfolk, Virginia, tried 4\. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, and MCAS Miramar, California, tried 3 each. These 5 locations account for 66% of the month, and their counts reflect their size. ## New Rules and Unknown Offense Dates Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, and the records give only trial dates. Trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and the new rules, and the records cannot separate them. The records also do not show evidence, plea terms, or misconduct handled outside a court-martial. 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 2024 (35 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 2024 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 49 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2024/) (previous / next) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, October 2024: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-october-2024/) (previous / next) - [The Navy-Marine Corps Court-Martial Year, 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2024-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 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/) - [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 2024 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 49 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2024/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, October 2024: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-october-2024/) → **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.