Pensacola, Florida in 2015: 16 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Pensacola, Florida held 16 courts-martial in 2015, and 62% of them were contested, compared with 29% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2015. Full acquittals came in 6 of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Pensacola, Florida › 2015
Short answer: Pensacola, Florida held 16 courts-martial in 2015, and 62% of them were contested, compared with 29% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2015. Full acquittals came in 6 of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 53% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 27%.
Most Cases Were Contested
Of the 16 cases, 10 had a not-guilty or mixed plea and 6 had a guilty plea. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 62% was higher than the 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Full Acquittals in 60% of Contested Verdicts
Full acquittals came in 60% of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the rate was 50%. Another 1 case was a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.
There were 10 convictions on at least one charge among the 16 cases.
Sexual Assault Was the Most Common Charge
Charge lists cover 15 of the 16 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 8 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 6 cases (40%), about the same as the 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 4 cases (27%), compared with 13% and 15%. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 3 cases (20%). A case with 3 articles appears in 3 rows of the table.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 8 | 53% | 27% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 40% | 38% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 27% | 13% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 27% | 15% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 20% | 11% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 13% | 15% |
| Art. 131b Obstruction, numbered since 2019 | 1 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel | 1 | 7% | 2% |
Confinement in 50% of Convictions
Confinement was part of 50% of the 10 convictions. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Among convicted enlisted members, 5 of 8 received a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Rank and Court Level
By rank, the accused were 8 NCOs, 6 junior enlisted members, and 2 officers. This group was more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
General courts-martial made up 6 of the 16 cases (38%), about the same as the 39% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Compared With Bremerton and Norfolk
Bremerton, Washington tried 45 cases in 2015 and Norfolk, Virginia tried 57. Their contested shares were 12% and 32%, both lower than Pensacola's 62%. Bremerton had 2 full acquittals in 5 contested cases that reached a verdict, and Norfolk had 11 of 18. The median confinement was 4 months at Bremerton and 5 months at Norfolk, compared with 7 months at Pensacola.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensacola, Florida | 16 | 62% | 6 of 10 | 7 months | 5 of 8 |
| Bremerton, Washington | 45 | 12% | 2 of 5 | 4 months | 54% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 57 | 32% | 11 of 18 | 5 months | 50% |
Rules and Record Limits
These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, so fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements did not apply.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and plea counts here use only records that list it. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed without action are not included.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Pensacola, Florida with a trial date in 2015 (16 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
- Pensacola, Florida: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Pensacola, Florida in 2014: 12 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- What Pensacola, Florida Tried in 2016 (previous / next)
- Pensacola, Florida, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 74 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.