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Understanding Trends

Quantico, Virginia in 2024: 17 Courts-Martial, Year in Review

Quantico, Virginia had 17 courts-martial in 2024, and the median confinement was 1.3 years, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 38% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 13% service-wide.

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read

Trends › By Installation › Quantico, Virginia › 2024

Short answer: Quantico, Virginia had 17 courts-martial in 2024, and the median confinement was 1.3 years, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 38% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 13% service-wide.

Based on 17 cases · 2024 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Long Confinement Terms

Of 16 convictions, 10 carried confinement. The median confinement was 1.3 years. In all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, the median was 5 months. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 2 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences. They were set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Domestic Violence and Child-Related Charges

Of the 17 records, 16 list the charges. One case can count under several articles.

Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 6 cases (38%), compared with 13% service-wide. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) and Article 107 (false official statements) each appeared in 3 cases (19%), compared with 5% each. Article 119b (child endangerment) appeared in 2 cases (12%), compared with 2%.

Article 134 (general article) appeared in 4 cases (25%), close to the 22% service-wide.

UCMJ ArticleCasesShare hereShare, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years
Art. 128b Domestic violence638%13%
Art. 134 General article425%22%
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child319%5%
Art. 107 False official statements319%5%
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances212%14%
Art. 106a Wearing unauthorized insignia212%1%
Art. 119b Child endangerment212%2%
Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer16%4%

Discharges and Dismissal

Of 14 convicted enlisted members, 10 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (71%), and 3 of those were dishonorable. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 58%.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Pleas and Full Acquittals

The plea is recorded in 16 of the 17 cases: 10 guilty pleas and 6 not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share, 38%, is higher than the 34% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

None of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.

Mostly NCOs

Among the accused with rank recorded, 4 were junior enlisted members, 10 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. That group is more senior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

General courts-martial made up 8 of the 17 cases (47%), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

Norfolk and Kaneohe Bay

Norfolk, Virginia tried 24 cases and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 25. Their median confinement was 4 months and 5 months, both shorter than at Quantico. At Norfolk, 4 of 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Kaneohe Bay had the highest punitive discharge share of the 3, at 78%.

InstallationCasesContestedFull acquittals (decided contested)Median confinementPunitive discharge (enlisted)
Quantico, Virginia1738%0 of 61.3 years71%
Norfolk, Virginia2426%4 of 64 months47%
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay2522%0 of 55 months78%

New Rules and Missing Details

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records do not give, so the 2024 cases mix old-rule and new-rule cases.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or cases 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 Quantico, Virginia with a trial date in 2024 (17 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.

Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Quantico, 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.

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