Norfolk, Virginia in 2019: 51 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Norfolk, Virginia tried 51 courts-martial in 2019, and 43% were contested, compared with 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 54% of cases, compared with 34% service-wide. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 31%, compared with 14%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › 2019
Short answer: Norfolk, Virginia tried 51 courts-martial in 2019, and 43% were contested, compared with 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 54% of cases, compared with 34% service-wide. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 31%, compared with 14%.
Many Cases Were Contested
The accused at Norfolk in 2019 contested their charges more often than the accused elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. Of 49 records listing a plea, 28 were guilty pleas and 21 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. That 43% contested share compares with 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
The contested share was higher at general courts-martial, 50%, than at special courts-martial, 33%. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these figures use only the records that list one.
Assault and Sexual Assault Were the Most Common Charges
Of 48 cases with charge lists, 26 included Article 128 (assault), or 54%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 15 (31%), compared with 14% service-wide. Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment) was charged in 4 cases: 8%, compared with 1%. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 7: 15%, compared with 10%.
Some common charges were less frequent. Article 112a drug offenses were in 19% of cases, compared with 30% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 92 orders violations were in 8%, compared with 17%. A case with several articles counts once under each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 26 | 54% | 34% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 15 | 31% | 14% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 19% | 30% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 7 | 15% | 10% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 8% | 17% |
| Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment | 4 | 8% | 1% |
Verdicts in Contested Cases
All 21 contested cases reached a verdict, and full acquittals came in 43% of them (9 of 21). That rate is lower than the 55% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019. Another 1 was a partial acquittal, in which the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.
Results by Charge
Assault cases ended in a guilty plea 58% of the time (14 of 24), the most among the top charges. Article 120 cases ended in a guilty plea 21% of the time (3 of 14). The records do not explain why an accused pleaded guilty or not guilty.
Drug charges ended in a conviction on the charged article most often: 8 of 9, with a median confinement of 2 months. Article 128 ended in a conviction in 22 of 26 (85%), with a 1-year median. Article 120 had the lowest rate, 9 of 15 (60%), and those convictions had a median of 3.5 years. 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 | 22 (85%) | 1 year |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 15 | 9 (60%) | 3.5 years |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 2 months |
Length of Confinement
Of 41 convictions, 85% included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the service median. A quarter of sentences were 2 years or longer.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 11 of 41 convictions (27%), about the same as the 24% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The largest difference was at the top: 5 convictions (12%) had sentences of 5 years or more, compared with 5% service-wide. These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in a case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 15% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 15 | 37% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 22% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 15% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 12% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges After a Conviction
Of 38 convicted enlisted members, 21 received a punitive discharge: 12 bad-conduct and 9 dishonorable. That 55% rate was lower than the 60% service-wide. Of 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.
Court Level and Rank
General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence including a dishonorable discharge, made up 30 of 51 cases (59%). Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 43%. Their median confinement was 1.1 years. The 21 special courts-martial, which are capped at one year of confinement, had a 4-month median. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, capped at six months with no punitive discharge.
By rank, the accused were 23 junior enlisted members, 25 NCOs, and 3 officers. The group was more senior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Changes From 2018
Cases fell from 55 to 51. The contested share rose from 29% to 43%. Full acquittals went from 7 of 16 to 9 of 21. Median confinement went from 7 months to 6 months. Convictions with confinement rose from 73% to 85%.
Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 49% to 55%. General courts-martial went from 49% to 59% of cases. A few cases can change each figure in groups this size, so the changes show direction only.
| 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 55 | 51 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 29% | 43% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 16 | 9 of 21 |
| Convictions with confinement | 73% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 49% | 55% |
| General courts-martial | 49% | 59% |
San Diego, Bremerton, and the Limits of the Records
San Diego, California (51 cases) and Bremerton, Washington (47 cases) were closest in size. Both had much lower contested shares, 14% and 11%. Full acquittals came in 4 of 7 contested cases at San Diego and 4 of 5 at Bremerton. San Diego's punitive discharge rate was 71%, and Bremerton's was 38%, compared with 55% at Norfolk.
The records cover only courts-martial. They do not show offense dates, evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or cases closed with no action.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 51 | 43% | 9 of 21 | 6 months | 55% |
| San Diego, California | 51 | 14% | 4 of 7 | 7 months | 71% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 47 | 11% | 4 of 5 | 3 months | 38% |
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 2019 (51 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)
- What Norfolk, Virginia Tried in 2018 (previous / next)
- What Norfolk, Virginia Tried in 2020 (previous / next)
- What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2019–2023? 205 Courts-Martial (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.