Washington, D.C., 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
Washington, D.C. held 21 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2024 through February 2026, about 8 a year, the same yearly rate as in 2019–2023. The median confinement was 8 months in the earlier period and 3 months in the later one.
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Trends › By Installation › Washington, D.C. › Before and after 2024
Short answer: Washington, D.C. held 21 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2024 through February 2026, about 8 a year, the same yearly rate as in 2019–2023. The median confinement was 8 months in the earlier period and 3 months in the later one. 21% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 59% in the earlier period and 52% service-wide.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. The officer equivalent is a dismissal. In 2024–2026, 21% of convicted enlisted members at Washington, D.C. received one: 2 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases, the share was 52%.
In 2019–2023, the share here was 59%. In the later period, 3 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 1 was sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not include administrative separations.
Median Confinement Was 3 Months
19 of the 21 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 14 of those sentences included confinement (74%). The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 9 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in a case.
2019–2023 Compared With 2024–2026
The 2019–2023 records hold 41 cases over 5 years, about 8 a year. The later period also had about 8 a year, counting full years. The yearly counts were 11 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 4 in early 2026, which is a partial year.
Convictions with confinement were 88% in the earlier period and 74% in the later one. The general court-martial share was 66% and 52%. The contested share was 38% and 33%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 7 of 15 and 2 of 7. With only 21 recent cases, a few outcomes can change these figures, so they show direction only.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 41 | 21 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 38% | 33% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 15 | 2 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 88% | 74% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 59% | 21% |
| General courts-martial | 66% | 52% |
What Was Charged?
All 21 records list the charges. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 5 cases (24%). The Article 92 share compares with 19% service-wide.
Article 128 (assault) and Article 128b (domestic violence) each appeared in 3 cases. Article 93a, which covers prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee, appeared in 2 cases (10%). Its share across the Navy and Marine Corps was 0%. Counts this small can change with 1 case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 24% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 24% | 19% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 14% | 15% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 14% | 12% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 93a Prohibited activities with recruit or trainee | 2 | 10% | 0% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 1 | 5% | 7% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 5% | 5% |
Pleas and Contested Cases
14 of the 21 accused pleaded guilty, and 7 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. A not-guilty or mixed plea makes a case contested. The contested share was 33%, slightly lower than the 36% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
2 of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. The records do not describe the evidence in any of them.
Court Level and Rank
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can adjudge no more than one year of confinement and no dishonorable discharge. Here, 11 cases were general courts-martial and 10 were special courts-martial. The general share was 52%, compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
The median confinement was 5 months at general courts-martial and 45 days at special courts-martial. 45% of general courts-martial were contested, compared with 20% of special courts-martial. The accused were 5 junior enlisted members, 11 NCOs, and 3 officers. That rank mix is more senior than the service as a whole.
Yokosuka and Cherry Point
Yokosuka, Japan (21 cases) and MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina (23 cases) held a similar number of cases in the same years. Washington, D.C. had the shortest median confinement of the 3: 3 months, compared with 5 months at Yokosuka and 4 months at Cherry Point.
It also had the lowest punitive discharge rate: 21%, compared with 69% at Yokosuka and 50% at Cherry Point. Its contested share was the same as Yokosuka's: 33%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | 21 | 33% | 2 of 7 | 3 months | 21% |
| Yokosuka, Japan | 21 | 33% | 3 of 7 | 5 months | 69% |
| MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina | 23 | 52% | 3 of 11 | 4 months | 50% |
Rule Changes in This Period
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 under new sentencing parameters.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot separate cases tried under the old rules from cases tried under the new rules, and they cannot show whether either change affected these numbers.
What the Records Do Not Show
Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed with no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Washington, D.C. in 2019–2023 (41) and 2024–2026 (21).
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
- Washington, D.C., 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- 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., 2024–2026
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.