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# What Washington, D.C. Tried in 2016
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/washington-d-c-courts-martial-2016/
- Published: 2026-10-30T08:13:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:13:19.000Z
- Description: The records list 14 courts-martial at Washington, D.C. in 2016. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps that year. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 38% of the cases, compared with 21% service-wide.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Washington, D.C., Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Washington, D.C.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-washington-d-c/) › 2016

**Short answer:** The records list 14 courts-martial at Washington, D.C. in 2016\. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps that year. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 38% of the cases, compared with 21% service-wide.

Based on 14 cases · 2016 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Confinement Was Longer Than the Service Median

13 of the 14 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 11 of those 13 sentences included confinement (85%). The median confinement was 1.5 years. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2016, the median was 6 months.

Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case.

## Sexual Assault and Assault Charges

Charge lists exist for 13 of the 14 cases. Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 6 cases (46%), compared with 38% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 5 cases (38%), compared with 21%.

The general article, Article 134, appeared in 3 cases (23%). Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 2 cases (15%), compared with 6% service-wide. The table also lists Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 87a (resisting apprehension, numbered since 2019), each in 1 case. A case with several articles is counted under each one.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                  | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                              | 6     | 46%        | 38%                                           |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                       | 5     | 38%        | 21%                                           |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                      | 3     | 23%        | 12%                                           |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2     | 15%        | 6%                                            |
| Art. 119b Child endangerment, numbered since 2019                                                                                             | 1     | 8%         | 1%                                            |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                              | 1     | 8%         | 11%                                           |
| [Art. 115](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-115/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Malingering                          | 1     | 8%         | 3%                                            |
| Art. 87a Resisting apprehension, numbered since 2019                                                                                          | 1     | 8%         | 2%                                            |

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 11 of the 14 cases (79%). Special courts-martial heard the rest. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Among the accused with rank recorded, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 38%, NCOs 54%, and officers 8%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members made up 51%.

## Punitive Discharges

5 of the 11 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (45%): 3 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 62%. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in these records, and that officer was dismissed.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

10 accused pleaded guilty and 4 contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 29%, about the same as the 27% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 4 contested cases, 1 ended in a full acquittal.

## Mayport and Bremerton in 2016

Mayport, Florida tried 27 cases in 2016, with a median confinement of 8 months and a punitive discharge rate of 68% for convicted enlisted members. Bremerton, Washington tried 37 cases, with a median of 5 months and a rate of 56%. Washington, D.C. had the longest median confinement and the lowest punitive discharge rate of the installations in the table.

| Installation          | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
| --------------------- | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Washington, D.C.      | 14    | 29%       | 1 of 4                              | 1.5 years          | 45%                           |
| Mayport, Florida      | 27    | 23%       | 2 of 6                              | 8 months           | 68%                           |
| Bremerton, Washington | 37    | 3%        | 1 of 1                              | 5 months           | 56%                           |

## What These Records Do Not Show

These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, so its fixed panel sizes and written plea agreements did not apply. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list it.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Every court-martial tried at Washington, D.C. with a trial date in 2016 (14 cases).

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Washington, D.C.: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-washington-d-c/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Washington, D.C. in 2024: 11 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/washington-d-c-courts-martial-2024/) (previous / next)
- [What Was Tried at Washington, D.C., 2013–2018? 76 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/washington-d-c-courts-martial-2013-2018/) (the whole period)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2015/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2017/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2018/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2020/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2021/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

Next: [Washington, D.C. in 2024: 11 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/washington-d-c-courts-martial-2024/) →

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.