What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026? 77 Courts-Martial
Norfolk, Virginia tried 77 courts-martial from January 2024 through October 2026. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 21% of them, compared with 12% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 36% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › 2024–2026
Short answer: Norfolk, Virginia tried 77 courts-martial from January 2024 through October 2026. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 21% of them, compared with 12% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 36% service-wide.
Domestic Violence Among the Most Common Charges
All 77 records list their charges, and an article counts once per case. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) were the most common, with 16 cases each. The 21% share for Article 128b compares with 12% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) was also more common than service-wide: 9%, compared with 5%. Article 112a drug charges were in 9% of cases, lower than the 12% service share. Article 120 sexual assault charges were in 5% of cases, about the same as the 6% service figure.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 16 | 21% | 12% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 16 | 21% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 19% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 13% | 15% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 7 | 9% | 5% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 9% | 12% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 5 | 6% | 3% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 5% | 6% |
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Pleas are recorded for 74 of the 77 cases: 56 guilty pleas and 18 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case with any not-guilty plea counts as contested. The contested share here was 24%, much lower than the 36% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in the same years.
Guilty pleas were different by charge. Cases charging Article 134 ended in a guilty plea 83% of the time (10 of 12). Article 92 cases ended in a guilty plea 56% of the time (9 of 16). The records do not give the reasons.
Verdicts in Contested Cases
Of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 22% ended in a full acquittal (4 of 18). That is lower than the 26% service rate. Another 9 were partial acquittals, in which the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
Convictions on the Top Charges
Almost every case with a top charge ended in a conviction on that charge. All 16 domestic violence cases, all 15 Article 134 cases, and all 10 Article 128 cases ended in a conviction on that article. Article 92 cases did in 15 of 16.
The median confinement for those convictions was 3 months for Article 128b, 1 year for Article 92, and 1.1 years for Article 134. The rows overlap, because a single case can include several articles.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 16 | 16 (100%) | 3 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 16 | 15 (94%) | 1 year |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 15 (100%) | 1.1 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 10 (100%) | 4 months |
Many Convictions Without Confinement
Of 70 convictions, 42 included confinement. The other 28 (40%) had no confinement, compared with 30% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. When confinement was adjudged, the median was 6 months, the same as the service median. A quarter of sentences were 1.1 years or more.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 11 of 70 convictions (16%), compared with 20%. All figures are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 28 | 40% | 30% |
| Under 6 months | 19 | 27% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 12 | 17% | 14% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 10% | 13% |
| 5 years or more | 4 | 6% | 7% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 63 convicted enlisted members, 28 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (44%), and 4 of those were dishonorable. The rate across the Navy and Marine Corps was 52%. For officers, the equivalent is dismissal: of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Changes From 2019–2023
Norfolk had 205 cases in 2019–2023, about 41 a year. Since then, there have been about 28 a year. The contested share fell from 35% to 24%. Full acquittals went from 29 of 70 to 4 of 18. Confinement was part of 78% of convictions in the earlier period and 60% now. The median stayed at 6 months. The enlisted punitive discharge rate fell from 62% to 44%.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges set the sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not include. These cases therefore include trials under both the old and new rules, and the records cannot show whether either change caused these differences.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 205 | 77 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 35% | 24% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 29 of 70 | 4 of 18 |
| Convictions with confinement | 78% | 60% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 62% | 44% |
| General courts-martial | 44% | 39% |
Court Level, Rank, and Comparable Installations
There were 29 general and 46 special courts-martial, and the level is not listed for 2. The 39% general court-martial share is about the same as the 38% service figure. At general courts-martial, 67% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.4 years. At special courts-martial, 56% did, with a median of 4 months.
NCOs made up 50% of the accused, junior enlisted members 44%, and officers 6%. That is a more senior mix than the service, where 59% were junior enlisted. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay (53 cases) and Bremerton, Washington (52) were closest in size. Their punitive discharge rates were 69% and 33%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 77 | 24% | 4 of 18 | 6 months | 44% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 53 | 31% | 1 of 16 | 7 months | 69% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 52 | 33% | 6 of 17 | 3 months | 33% |
Cases by Year and What the Records Do Not Show
There were 24 cases in 2024, 31 in 2025, and 22 in 2026, a partial year. Together they are about 8% of 1,013 service cases. The records do not show evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Norfolk, Virginia with a trial date in 2024–2026 (77 cases), compared with all 1,013 Navy and Marine Corps trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Norfolk, Virginia, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 308 Cases (another period)
- What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2019–2023? 205 Courts-Martial (another period)
- What Was Tried at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 2024–2026? 53 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Bremerton, Washington Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Did Assault Cases at Norfolk, Virginia Change After 2019?
- Article 112a at Norfolk, Virginia Before and After 2019
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.