Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, September 2025: The Month in Review
Only 1 of the 12 contested Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial that reached a verdict in September 2025 ended in a full acquittal (8%), compared with 27% for all of 2025. Of the 33 cases, 32 ended in a conviction on at least one charge.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2025
Short answer: Only 1 of the 12 contested Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial that reached a verdict in September 2025 ended in a full acquittal (8%), compared with 27% for all of 2025. Of the 33 cases, 32 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Article 134 was charged in 30% of cases, compared with 21% for the year.
Few Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. This month, 12 cases were contested and 21 ended in guilty pleas. The contested share was 36%, about the same as the 37% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2025.
Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal (8%). The rate for the year was 27%. Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.
The General Article and Domestic Violence
All 33 records list the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 10 cases (30%), compared with 21% for the year. Domestic violence under Article 128b was charged in 6 cases (18%), compared with 11%.
Orders violations under Article 92 were charged in 24% of cases, the same as the year. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 5 cases (15%), about the same as the 16% for the year. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 4 cases (12%), compared with 8%. Article 115, communicating threats, was charged in 3 cases (9%), compared with 3%. Article 114, endangerment offenses, was charged in 2 cases (6%), compared with 2%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 30% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 24% | 24% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 6 | 18% | 11% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 15% | 16% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 12% | 8% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 3 | 9% | 3% |
| Art. 114 Endangerment offenses | 2 | 6% | 2% |
Convictions by Article
All 10 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 6 months. Article 92 ended in a conviction on that article in 7 of 8 cases, with a median of 3 months.
A single case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another. These rows overlap and do not match the month's totals.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 10 (100%) | 6 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 3 months |
Most Sentences Were Under 6 Months
Of the 32 convictions, 27 included confinement (84%). The median confinement was 4 months, the same as for the year. Sentences under 6 months made up 16 convictions (50%), compared with 37% for 2025. Only 5 convictions (16%) had no confinement, compared with 31%.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 6 of 32 convictions (19%), about the same as the 16% for the year. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 3 convictions (9%), compared with 5%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 16% | 31% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 50% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 16% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 9% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 9% | 5% |
General and Special Courts-Martial Compared
The month had 11 general courts-martial and 22 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 33%, compared with 36% for 2025. The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial.
Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Special courts-martial were contested more often: 41%, compared with 27% at general courts-martial.
Punitive Discharges Higher Than the Year
A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge followed 52% of enlisted convictions. The share for 2025 was 46%. The month had 11 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable discharges.
The records show 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.
Changes From September 2024
There were 35 cases in September 2024 and 33 in September 2025. The contested share rose from 24% to 36%. Median confinement stayed at 4 months.
Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 8 to 1 of 12. Enlisted punitive discharges fell from 59% to 52%. The general court-martial share was about the same, at 34% and 33%. Small monthly groups can change with a few cases.
| September 2024 | September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 35 | 33 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 24% | 36% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 8 | 1 of 12 |
| Convictions with confinement | 81% | 84% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 59% | 52% |
| General courts-martial | 34% | 33% |
Rank and Installations
Among the accused with rank recorded, 22 were junior enlisted, 8 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2025.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 4 cases. Bremerton, Washington, San Diego, California, MCAS Miramar, California, and Okinawa, Japan, each tried 3. Together these locations account for 48% of the month. Larger bases try more cases of every kind.
Law Changes the Records Cannot Separate
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Military judges set the sentence in cases where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023.
The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied to each case. They also do not show evidence, plea terms, or nonjudicial punishment.
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 2025 (33 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 2025 (previous / next)
- October 2025 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 33 Cases (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2025: 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.