Norfolk, Virginia in 2025: 31 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Norfolk, Virginia tried 31 courts-martial in 2025, and all ended in a conviction on at least one charge. When confinement was imposed, the median was 1 year, compared with 4 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 23% of cases were contested, compared with 37% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › 2025
Short answer: Norfolk, Virginia tried 31 courts-martial in 2025, and all ended in a conviction on at least one charge. When confinement was imposed, the median was 1 year, compared with 4 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 23% of cases were contested, compared with 37% service-wide.
Fewer Sentences With Confinement, but Longer Ones
Sentences in 2025 were unusual. Of 31 convictions, only 17 included confinement. The other 14 (45%) had none, compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 4 months service-wide. A quarter of sentences were 1.5 years or longer.
Few sentences were short: 4 convictions (13%) had sentences under 6 months, compared with 37% elsewhere. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 7 of 31 convictions (23%), compared with 16%. These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in a case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 14 | 45% | 31% |
| Under 6 months | 4 | 13% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 19% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 16% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 6% | 5% |
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Of 31 accused, 24 pleaded guilty and 7 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, meaning they contested at least one charge. That 23% contested share is lower than the 37% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
None of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Every case in the records ended in a conviction on at least one charge.
Orders Violations and the General Article
All 31 records list the charges. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was the most common, in 10 cases (32%), compared with 24% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. The general article, Article 134, was charged in 8 cases: 26%, compared with 21%.
Article 131b (obstructing justice, numbered since 2019) was charged in 4 cases: 13%, compared with 6%. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 5: 16%, compared with 11%. Drug charges under Article 112a were less common: 6%, compared with 10%. A case charging several articles appears under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 32% | 24% |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 26% | 21% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 16% | 11% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 13% | 16% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 4 | 13% | 6% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 6% | 10% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 2 | 6% | 6% |
Every Case With a Top Charge Ended in a Conviction
All 10 cases charging Article 92 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 7 months. All 8 Article 134 cases also ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 1 year. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these counts overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 10 (100%) | 7 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 1 year |
General and Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial made up 14 of 31 cases (45%), compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
The general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.2 years, and 29% were contested. The 17 special courts-martial had a 5-month median, and 18% were contested.
Punitive Discharges and Rank
A punitive discharge followed 46% of enlisted convictions: 11 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. That is the same as the 46% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Both convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
The accused were 13 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 15 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, where 62% were junior enlisted.
From 2024 to 2025
Cases rose from 24 to 31. The contested share went from 26% to 23%. Full acquittals went from 4 of 6 to 0 of 7. Median confinement rose from 4 months to 1 year. Convictions with confinement fell from 84% to 55%.
General courts-martial rose from 21% to 45% of cases. The punitive discharge rate was about the same, at 47% and 46%. A few cases can change these numbers, so they show direction, not precision.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 24 | 31 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 26% | 23% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 6 | 0 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 55% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 47% | 46% |
| General courts-martial | 21% | 45% |
Comparable Installations, New Rules, and Limits
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (37 cases) and San Diego, California (38 cases) tried a similar number of cases and had higher contested shares, 29% and 26%. Their medians were 4 months and 3 months, compared with 1 year here. Camp Lejeune had 2 of 10 full acquittals, and San Diego had 1 of 10. Their punitive discharge rates were 45% and 29%.
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 is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records do not include offense dates, so 2025 trials may be under either set of rules. The records also do not show the evidence, plea terms, or nonjudicial punishment.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 31 | 23% | 0 of 7 | 1 year | 46% |
| Camp Lejeune, North Carolina | 37 | 29% | 2 of 10 | 4 months | 45% |
| San Diego, California | 38 | 26% | 1 of 10 | 3 months | 29% |
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 2025 (31 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 2024 (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
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Norfolk, Virginia, 2025
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.