What Norfolk, Virginia Tried in 2024
Norfolk, Virginia held 24 courts-martial in 2024. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps, and 47% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 58%.
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Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › 2024
Short answer: Norfolk, Virginia held 24 courts-martial in 2024. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps, and 47% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 58%. 4 of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
The plea is listed in 23 of the 24 records. 17 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge. The contested share of 26% was lower than the 34% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024.
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. Of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges.
Shorter Confinement Than the Service Median
Confinement was part of 84% of the 19 convictions. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 6 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, so it cannot be tied to a single offense.
Bad-Conduct Discharges Only
A punitive discharge followed 47% of enlisted convictions. All 9 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was dishonorable. Across the whole Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 58%.
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Assault, Drug, and Domestic Violence Charges
All 24 records list the charges. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 5 cases (21%), compared with 16% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 134 (general article), Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances), and Article 128b (domestic violence) each appeared in 4 cases (17%).
Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) appeared in 3 cases (12%), compared with 4% elsewhere. Conspiracy under Article 81 appeared in 2 cases (8%), compared with 3%. Each article counts once per case, so a case with several articles appears in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 21% | 16% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 17% | 22% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 17% | 14% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 4 | 17% | 13% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 12% | 16% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 3 | 12% | 4% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 2 | 8% | 3% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 4% | 5% |
Changes From 2023
Norfolk tried 29 cases in 2023 and 24 in 2024. The contested share went from 48% to 26%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 5 of 14 to 4 of 6.
Convictions with confinement went from 62% to 84%, while the median confinement went from 6 months to 4 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 52% to 47%. General courts-martial went from 52% of cases to 21%. With groups this size, a few cases can move each figure, so the changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 29 | 24 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 48% | 26% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 5 of 14 | 4 of 6 |
| Convictions with confinement | 62% | 84% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 52% | 47% |
| General courts-martial | 52% | 21% |
NCOs Made Up Most of the Accused
NCOs made up 58% of the accused and junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 42%. No officers were tried. Across the whole Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 58% of the accused.
There were 5 general and 19 special courts-martial. The general share of 21% was lower than the 38% across the service. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Kaneohe Bay and Camp Lejeune in 2024
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 25 cases, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 44. Their contested shares were 22% and 21%, both lower than Norfolk's 26%. Kaneohe Bay had 0 of 5 full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict, and Camp Lejeune had 2 of 9.
The median confinement was 5 months at Kaneohe Bay and 1 year at Camp Lejeune. Punitive discharges went to 78% and 70% of their convicted enlisted members, both higher than Norfolk's 47%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 24 | 26% | 4 of 6 | 4 months | 47% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 25 | 22% | 0 of 5 | 5 months | 78% |
| Camp Lejeune, North Carolina | 44 | 21% | 2 of 9 | 1 year | 70% |
Rules That Changed in December 2023
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 within new sentencing parameters.
Both rules depend on the offense date. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so 2024 trials include cases under both the old and new rules, and the records cannot show whether the changes affected any figure here.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
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 2024 (24 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)
- Norfolk, Virginia in 2023: 29 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Norfolk, Virginia in 2025: 31 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026? 77 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)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024
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.