Washington, D.C., 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
Washington, D.C. held 41 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in 2019–2023, compared with 76 in 2013–2018. 7 of 15 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (47%), compared with 29% service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Washington, D.C. › Before and after 2019
Short answer: Washington, D.C. held 41 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in 2019–2023, compared with 76 in 2013–2018. 7 of 15 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (47%), compared with 29% service-wide. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
7 of 15 Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. 15 contested cases at Washington, D.C. reached a verdict in 2019–2023, and 7 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 47%, is higher than the 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps in the same years.
No case here ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal is a verdict of not guilty on at least one charge or specification but guilty on another. Each contested case here ended in either a full acquittal or a conviction on every charge.
The earlier period was similar: 13 of 29 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal in 2013–2018.
Sentences of 5 Years or More Were More Common
30 of 34 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months. It was 6 months here in 2013–2018 and 6 months Navy and Marine Corps-wide. A quarter of the sentences were 1.7 years or longer.
The largest difference is in the longest sentences. 6 convictions (18%) had confinement of 5 years or more, compared with 5% across the service. 10 of 34 convictions (29%) had confinement longer than one year, compared with 24%. 12% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 17%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 12% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 32% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 26% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 12% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 6 | 18% | 5% |
Court Level and Rank
27 of the 41 cases were general courts-martial, and 14 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 66%, compared with 44% across the Navy and Marine Corps and 57% here in 2013–2018. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can adjudge no more than one year of confinement.
The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 6 months at special courts-martial. 42% of general courts-martial were contested, compared with 29% of special courts-martial.
The accused were more senior than in the service as a whole. NCOs were 46% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 49%, and officers were 5%. Across the service, junior enlisted members were 64%.
Pleas
40 records list a plea. 25 were guilty pleas, and 15 were contested. The contested share was 38%, higher than the 31% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. It was about the same as the 39% here in 2013–2018.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these counts use only the records that list it.
Results by Charge
All 11 cases charging Article 112a (drug offenses) ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 7 months. 9 of 10 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 2.7 years.
5 of 10 cases charging Article 128 (assault) ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 4 months. A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 11 (100%) | 7 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 9 (90%) | 2.7 years |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 5 (50%) | 4 months |
What Was Charged?
40 of the 41 records list the charges. Article 134 was charged more often than across the Navy and Marine Corps: 25% compared with 18%. Article 128 was charged less often: 25% compared with 31%. Article 92 (orders violations) appeared in 8% of cases, compared with 18% service-wide.
A case with several articles appears in several rows of the table, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 28% | 25% |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 25% | 18% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 25% | 31% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 12% | 14% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 10% | 9% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 4 | 10% | 6% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 10% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 8% | 18% |
Punitive Discharges Were the Same in Both Periods
17 of 29 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 12 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. That is 59%, the same as in 2013–2018 and slightly lower than the 63% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
| 2013–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 76 | 41 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 39% | 38% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 13 of 29 | 7 of 15 |
| Convictions with confinement | 87% | 88% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 8 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 59% | 59% |
| General courts-martial | 57% | 66% |
Case Counts and Comparison Bases
The yearly counts were 7 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 12 in 2021, 8 in 2022, and 9 in 2023. That is about 8 a year, compared with about 13 a year in 2013–2018. In small groups, a few cases can move a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precision.
MCAS Miramar, California and Pensacola, Florida each held 42 cases in the same years. At Miramar, 0 of 6 contested cases with a verdict ended in a full acquittal. At Pensacola, 14 of 24 did, and the median confinement was 3 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | 41 | 38% | 7 of 15 | 8 months | 59% |
| MCAS Miramar, California | 42 | 30% | 0 of 6 | 6 months | 66% |
| Pensacola, Florida | 42 | 59% | 14 of 24 | 3 months | 56% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Washington, D.C. in 2013–2018 (76) and 2019–2023 (41).
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
- Washington, D.C.: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2013–2018? 76 Courts-Martial
- What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2019–2023? 41 Courts-Martial
- Washington, D.C., 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases
- How Washington, D.C. Handled Assault Cases (Article 128), 2013–2018
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Washington, D.C., 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.