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# Article 112a at Camp Pendleton, California Before and After 2019
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-article-112a-before-after-2019/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:32:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:48:21.000Z
- Description: From 2019–2023, 78 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton, California charged Article 112a (drug). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Camp Pendleton, California, Article 112a, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Camp Pendleton, California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) › Article 112a

**Short answer:** From 2019–2023, 78 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton, California charged Article 112a (drug). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. 66% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall.

Based on 78 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Every Case Ended in a Conviction

All 78 drug cases at Camp Pendleton in 2019–2023 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 77 of those sentences included confinement (99%). Only 1% of convictions carried no confinement, compared with 11% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 5-month median elsewhere. A quarter of sentences were 8 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

## Sentence Lengths

Most terms were short. 56% of convictions were under 6 months, compared with 45% service-wide. 27% were 6 months to 1 year, the same share as the service. Terms longer than one year came in 12 of 78 convictions (15%), about the same as the 16% in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall. No conviction carried 5 years or more.

Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases overall |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 1%         | 11%                                                     |
| Under 6 months                  | 44          | 56%        | 45%                                                     |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 21          | 27%        | 27%                                                     |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12          | 15%        | 15%                                                     |
| 5 years or more                 | 0           | 0%         | 1%                                                      |

## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

The base tried 64 of these cases at special courts-martial and 14 at general courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 18%, lower than the 24% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Sentences differed by court level. The median confinement was 1.3 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.

## Pleas Listed in Only 38 Records

Only 38 of the 78 records list a plea: 31 guilty pleas and 7 contested cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, through a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 18%, about the same as the 20% in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. These figures therefore rest only on the 38 records that list it. The cases without a plea cannot be counted as guilty pleas or contested cases.

## Punitive Discharges

Of 77 convicted enlisted members, 51 received a punitive discharge: 42 bad-conduct and 9 dishonorable. That share, 66%, is about the same as the 64% across Navy and Marine Corps drug cases.

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Rank of the Accused and Other Charges

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 88% of the accused, compared with 79% in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall. NCOs were 12%, and no officers appear.

Article 112a was the only charge in 36 of the 78 cases. Across the service, 200 of 460 drug cases charged it alone. The most common other charges were Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 81 (conspiracy), in 11 cases each. Article 131b (obstruction) appeared in 7, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 5, and Article 134 (general article) in 4.

## Compared with 2017–2018

The 2 earlier years on record, 2017–2018, had 42 cases, about 21 a year. Since then, there have been about 16 a year, counting full years only. Convictions with confinement were 92% in the earlier period and 99% in the later one. The median confinement was 7 months and then 4 months.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 73% and then 66%. General courts-martial were 24% of cases and then 18%. The earlier records do not have usable plea data. These groups are small, and a few cases can change the figures. The changes show a direction, not a precise size.

|                               | 2017–2018 | 2019–2023 |
| ----------------------------- | --------- | --------- |
| Cases                         | 42        | 78        |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | —         | 18%       |
| Convictions with confinement  | 92%       | 99%       |
| Median confinement            | 7 months  | 4 months  |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 73%       | 66%       |
| General courts-martial        | 24%       | 18%       |

## Drug Cases Among All Courts-Martial at the Base

These 78 cases were 27% of the 291 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton in 2019–2023\. They were tried from January 2019 to June 2023: 22 in 2019, 18 in 2020, 20 in 2021, 16 in 2022, and 2 in 2023.

## What the Records Do Not Show

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include drug use handled outside a court-martial through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. They give trial dates, not offense dates.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 112a on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Courts-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California that charged Article 112a (found guilty, not guilty, or both): 2017–2018 (42) and 2019–2023 (78). Comparisons use every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 112a in 2019–2023.

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

- [Camp Pendleton, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) (hub)
- [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub)
- [Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2017-2018/) (the whole docket)
- [What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2019-2023/) (the whole docket)
- [Inside 142 Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2024-2026/) (the whole docket)
- [Drug Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: 2017–2018 vs. 2019–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-article-112a-before-after-2019/) (same offense, another installation)
- [Did Drug Cases at Bremerton, Washington Change After 2019?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-article-112a-before-after-2019/) (same offense, another installation)
- [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/)
- [S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s1e33-dismissing-the-camp-pendleton-case/) (podcast, members)
- [Article 112a explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

Next: [Article 112a at Camp Pendleton, California Before and After 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-article-112a-before-after-2024/) →

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 112a Cases at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023

- [John Ferriter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-john-ferriter/)
- [Andrea Goode](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-andrea-goode/)
- [Douglas Hatch](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-douglas-hatch/)
- [Stephen Keane](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-stephen-keane/)
- [Yong Lee](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-yong-lee/)
- [John Norman](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-john-norman/)
- [Derek Poteet](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-derek-poteet/)

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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership.

**Compare: federal court.** [Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-no-crime-of-drug-use-article-112a/) · [Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/)

**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.