Drug Plus Larceny: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 112a and 121

Trends › By Offense › Article 112a › With Article 121

Based on 79 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Longer Confinement Than Other Drug Cases

All 79 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The main difference from other drug cases is the sentence. 73 of the 79 sentences included confinement (92%). The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a.

A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Punitive Discharges Were More Common

Of 75 enlisted members convicted, 63 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (84%). For all Article 112a cases, the rate was 70%. Most were bad-conduct discharges; 11 were dishonorable.

The records list 3 convicted officers or warrant officers. 2 of them were dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A member who did not receive a punitive discharge at trial could still face an administrative separation, which court records do not show.

Few Cases Were Contested

The plea is listed in 65 of the 79 records. In 57 the accused pleaded guilty. 8 were contested, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 12%, compared with 18% for all Article 112a cases.

With only 8 contested cases, the records say little about contested trials for this pairing, and the sheet reports no acquittal figures for it. Guilty pleas make up most of every count that follows.

Most Sentences Were 6 Months to 1 Year

The table shows confinement by length. 34 convictions (43%) included 6 months to 1 year of confinement, compared with 27% in the comparison group. Sentences under 6 months were less common here: 30% compared with 47%.

Sentences longer than one year were about as common as in the comparison group: 15 of 79 convictions (19%), compared with 16%.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

There were 32 general courts-martial and 46 special courts-martial. The court level is not listed for 1 case. General courts-martial made up 41% of the total. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

At general courts-martial, 91% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1 year. At special courts-martial, 93% did, with a median of 8 months.

Rank of the Accused

The accused were 53 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 22 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. For all Article 112a cases in these services, 76% of the accused were junior enlisted. This group was more senior than the comparison group.

Other Charges in These Cases

Most cases included charges beyond drugs and larceny. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 24 cases, Article 86 (AWOL) in 21, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 15, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 14.

Each sentence covers all charges of conviction together. The records do not show a separate sentence for the drug or larceny charges.

Years and Installations

Trials took place from January 2013 to February 2026. The highest counts were 12 cases in 2021 and 12 in 2022. There were 9 cases in 2017 and 8 in 2018. Only 1 case is recorded so far in 2026, a partial year.

San Diego, California had the most cases, with 10. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 9, Jacksonville, Florida had 6, and Norfolk, Virginia and Mayport, Florida had 5 each. These installations account for 44% of the 79 cases. A large base tries more cases of every kind, so the counts do not by themselves say anything about one location.

What the Records Do Not Show

The rules changed during these years. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It brought written plea agreements and judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge. Newer sentencing rules apply to offenses after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot sort cases by which rules applied or show whether the changes affected outcomes.

Trial records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 · Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial

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.