What Was Tried at Pensacola, Florida, 2019–2023? 42 Courts-Martial
Of the 42 courts-martial at Pensacola, Florida from 2019 to 2023, 24 were contested. 14 of those contested cases ended in a full acquittal (58%), compared with 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Pensacola, Florida › 2019–2023
Short answer: Of the 42 courts-martial at Pensacola, Florida from 2019 to 2023, 24 were contested. 14 of those contested cases ended in a full acquittal (58%), compared with 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 44% of cases, compared with 14% elsewhere in the service.
Most Cases Were Contested
The plea is recorded for 41 of the 42 cases. 24 accused contested at least one charge and 17 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 59%, compared with 31% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. At Pensacola there were more contested cases than guilty pleas.
Guilty pleas were uncommon for the most common charges. 5 of 18 cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea (28%). 3 of 18 cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea (17%). The records do not show why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
Full Acquittals in 58% of Contested Cases
14 of the 24 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 58%. The service-wide rate was 29%. 2 more cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another. With 24 contested cases, a few verdicts can change the rate by several points.
Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common
Charges are listed for 41 of the 42 cases. Each article counts once per case. Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 44% of cases. The service shares were 14% and 31%.
Article 112a (drug) appeared in 17% of cases, compared with 25%. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 12%, compared with 18%. Article 115, which covers malingering before 2019 and communicating threats since, appeared in 10% of cases here, compared with 3% service-wide. Article 92 orders violations appeared in 15%, compared with 18%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 18 | 44% | 31% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 18 | 44% | 14% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 17% | 25% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 15% | 18% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 12% | 18% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 4 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 7% | 5% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 7% | 7% |
Low Conviction Rates on the Most Common Charges
Cases charging Article 128 ended in a conviction on that article in only 6 of 18 (33%). The median confinement for those convictions was 5 months. Cases charging Article 120 also ended in 6 convictions on that article out of 18 (33%), with a median of 4 months. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 18 | 6 (33%) | 5 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 18 | 6 (33%) | 4 months |
Short Sentences
89% of the 27 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across the service. A quarter of the sentences were 7 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
Sentences under 6 months were 59% of convictions, compared with 35%. 3 of 27 convictions (11%) carried more than one year, compared with 24% service-wide. No sentence was 5 years or more.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 11% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 59% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 19% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 11% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges After Conviction
Of 27 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (56%). That is lower than the 63% service rate. Only 2 of the 15 were dishonorable discharges. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.
Court Level and Rank
General courts-martial made up 23 of the 42 cases (55%), compared with 44% service-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. In general courts-martial, 9 of 9 convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months. A special court-martial is capped at one year. In the 19 special courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 45 days.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, NCOs 38%, and officers 5%. Service-wide, junior enlisted members made up 64%.
Changes Since 2013–2018
Pensacola had 74 cases in 2013–2018, about 12 a year. It has had about 8 a year since. The contested share was 38% then and 59% since. Full acquittals were 12 of 26 then and 14 of 24 since. Median confinement was 6 months then and 3 months since. The share of convictions with confinement was 84% then and 89% since. The punitive discharge rate was 56% in both periods.
Small groups change with a few cases, so these figures show direction, not precise size. The records cannot show the cause of any change.
| 2013–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 74 | 42 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 38% | 59% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 12 of 26 | 14 of 24 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 89% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 56% | 56% |
| General courts-martial | 49% | 55% |
Similar Installations and What the Records Cannot Show
MCAS Miramar, California (42 cases) and Washington, D.C. (41) tried a similar number of cases. Their contested shares were 30% and 38%. Their median confinement was 6 months and 8 months. They had 0 full acquittals in 6 and 7 in 15 contested cases that reached a verdict.
By year, Pensacola had 11 cases in 2019, 1 in 2020, 11 in 2021, 13 in 2022, and 6 in 2023. The 42 cases were 2% of the 1,991 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years. The records do not show evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensacola, Florida | 42 | 59% | 14 of 24 | 3 months | 56% |
| MCAS Miramar, California | 42 | 30% | 0 of 6 | 6 months | 66% |
| Washington, D.C. | 41 | 38% | 7 of 15 | 8 months | 59% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Pensacola, Florida with a trial date in 2019–2023 (42 cases), compared with all 1,991 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
- Pensacola, Florida: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Pensacola, Florida, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 74 Cases (another period)
- Pensacola, Florida, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 15 Cases (another period)
- MCAS Miramar, California, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 42 Cases (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2019–2023? 41 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Sexual Assault Cases at Pensacola, Florida: 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023
- Article 128 at Pensacola, Florida Before and After 2019
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Pensacola, Florida, 2019–2023
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.