What Norfolk, Virginia Tried in 2015
Norfolk, Virginia held 57 courts-martial in 2015. Of contested cases that reached a verdict, 61% ended in a full acquittal (11 of 18), higher than the 50% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 49% of cases, compared with 38% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › 2015
Short answer: Norfolk, Virginia held 57 courts-martial in 2015. Of contested cases that reached a verdict, 61% ended in a full acquittal (11 of 18), higher than the 50% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 49% of cases, compared with 38% service-wide.
Most Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
Of 18 contested cases that reached a verdict in 2015, 11 ended in a full acquittal. That 61% full-acquittal rate is higher than the 50% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
None of the 18 ended in a partial acquittal. Every contested case ended in either a full acquittal or a conviction.
Assault and Orders Violations
Charge lists cover 53 of 57 cases. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 26 cases (49%), compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 13 cases: 25%, compared with 15%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 19 cases, 36% of those with charge lists, compared with 27% service-wide. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 6. Drug, larceny, and false statement charges were each slightly less common than service-wide. Each article counts once per case, so one case can appear under several.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 26 | 49% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 19 | 36% | 27% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 13 | 25% | 15% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 13% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 6 | 11% | 8% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 6 | 11% | 15% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 5 | 9% | 13% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 9% | 11% |
Article 120 Cases Were Different
Sexual assault cases were contested more often. Cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea 37% of the time (7 of 19). Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 77% of the time (20 of 26). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or not guilty.
Article 120 also had the lowest conviction rate on the charged article among the top charges: 10 of 19 (53%). The median confinement for those convictions was 2.5 years. Article 128 and Article 92 each ended in a conviction in 77% of the cases that charged them, with medians of 6 months and 4 months. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 26 | 20 (77%) | 6 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 19 | 10 (53%) | 2.5 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 13 | 10 (77%) | 4 months |
Pleas
Of 56 records listing a plea, 38 were guilty pleas and 18 were contested. The contested share of 32% compares with 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Records from before December 2020 often omit the plea, and these shares use only those that list it.
Sentences About the Same as the Service
There were 46 cases with a conviction on at least one charge. Of those sentences, 39 included confinement (85%). The median confinement was 5 months, the same as the 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of sentences were 1 year or more.
The share in each sentence range was close to the service. There was no confinement in 15% of convictions, both here and service-wide. Sentences under 6 months made up 46%, compared with 44%. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 6 of 46 (13%), compared with 18%. All are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in a case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 15% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 21 | 46% | 44% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 12 | 26% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 7% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 7% | 7% |
Punitive Discharges and Rank
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One followed 50% of enlisted convictions: 15 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. The Navy and Marine Corps rate was 58%. None of the 4 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 46% of the accused, NCOs 47%, and officers 7%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 47%.
Changes Since 2014
Cases rose from 50 to 57. The contested share fell from 48% to 32%. Full acquittals went from 8 of 24 contested cases with a verdict to 11 of 18. Median confinement fell from 10 months to 5 months.
General courts-martial fell from 60% of cases to 42%. The punitive discharge rate for enlisted members was 50% in both years. Groups this small can change with a few cases, so these changes show direction, not precise measures.
| 2014 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 50 | 57 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 48% | 32% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 8 of 24 | 11 of 18 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 10 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 50% | 50% |
| General courts-martial | 60% | 42% |
Court Level and Comparable Installations
There were 24 general courts-martial, with a median confinement of 6 months and a 33% contested share. There were 33 special courts-martial, with a 4-month median and a 31% contested share. The general court-martial share, 42%, compares with 39% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
San Diego, California (59 cases) and Bremerton, Washington (45 cases) were closest in size. Norfolk had the highest contested share of the 3: 32%, compared with 24% and 12%. It also had the most full acquittals: 11 of 18, compared with 5 of 14 and 2 of 5. Its 5-month median was slightly longer than the 4 months at both other installations.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 57 | 32% | 11 of 18 | 5 months | 50% |
| San Diego, California | 59 | 24% | 5 of 14 | 4 months | 56% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 45 | 12% | 2 of 5 | 4 months | 54% |
What the Records Do Not Show
These trials were under the rules in place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Trial records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show offense dates, evidence, plea terms, or matters handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Norfolk, Virginia with a trial date in 2015 (57 cases).
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
- Norfolk, Virginia: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Norfolk, Virginia: 2014 (previous / next)
- Norfolk, Virginia in 2016: 55 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Norfolk, Virginia, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 308 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- 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.