Camp Pendleton, California in 2021: 60 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Only 16% of the 2021 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton, California with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The base tried 60 cases. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 34% of them, compared with 25% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Camp Pendleton, California › 2021
Short answer: Only 16% of the 2021 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton, California with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The base tried 60 cases. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 34% of them, compared with 25% service-wide.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Of the 56 records that list a plea, 47 show a guilty plea and 9 show a not-guilty or mixed plea. A not-guilty or mixed plea makes the case contested. The contested share of 16% was lower than the 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
For 2020, the records at this base list no pleas. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so no contested share can be given for that year. The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested.
No Full Acquittals in Contested Cases
None of the 9 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (0 of 9). At Norfolk, Virginia, 6 of 13 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal that year. At San Diego, California, 5 of 14 did.
Contested shares were about the same at both court levels here: 17% in general courts-martial and 15% in special courts-martial.
Drugs, Conspiracy, and Larceny
Charges are listed in 58 of the 60 records, and a case can be counted under several articles. Article 112a, covering wrongful use and possession of controlled substances, was the most common charge at 34%, compared with 25% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Conspiracy under Article 81 was charged in 17%, compared with 11%. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 14%, compared with 9%.
Assault under Article 128 was less common than elsewhere: 26% compared with 32%. Article 120 (sexual assault) was also less common: 10% compared with 19%. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 26% of cases, the same as the service rate. False official statements under Article 107 were charged in 12%, compared with 10%. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 19%, compared with 21%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 20 | 34% | 25% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 26% | 32% |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 26% | 26% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 19% | 21% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 10 | 17% | 11% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 8 | 14% | 9% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 7 | 12% | 10% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 10% | 19% |
Every Case on the Most Common Charges Ended in Conviction
Every case charging one of the most common articles ended in a conviction on that article. The counts were 20 of 20 for Article 112a, 15 of 15 each for Article 128 and Article 134, and 11 of 11 for Article 92.
The median confinement was 6 months for drug and assault convictions and 7 months for orders violations. The median for cases with an Article 134 conviction was 2.3 years. A case can include several of these articles, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 20 | 20 (100%) | 6 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 15 | 15 (100%) | 6 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 15 | 15 (100%) | 2.3 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 11 (100%) | 7 months |
Sentences About the Same as Service-Wide
Of 58 cases with a conviction on at least one charge, 53 included confinement (91%). The median confinement was 7 months, the same as the 7 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal.
Terms longer than one year were part of 17 of 58 convictions (29%), compared with 26%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 9% of convictions, compared with 5%. 5 convictions (9%) included no confinement, compared with 15%. Terms under 6 months (34%, compared with 33%) and from 6 months to 1 year (28%, compared with 26%) were about the same as service-wide.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 9% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 20 | 34% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 16 | 28% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 21% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 9% | 5% |
Discharges, Dismissals, and Rank
65% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (22 bad-conduct and 13 dishonorable), about the same as the 64% across the Navy and Marine Corps. All 3 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 82% of the accused, compared with 69% service-wide. NCOs made up 12%, and officers made up 5%.
Court Levels and the Year Before
General courts-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge and confinement of more than one year. They made up 43% of cases (26 of 60), with a median confinement of 1.7 years. The 34 special courts-martial had a median confinement of 4 months.
Camp Pendleton tried 57 cases in 2020 and 60 in 2021. The median confinement was 7 months in both years. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 74% to 65%. The share of convictions with confinement went from 98% to 91%. In a single year a few cases can change these figures, so they show direction only.
| 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 57 | 60 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 16% |
| Convictions with confinement | 98% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 74% | 65% |
| General courts-martial | 40% | 43% |
Compared With Norfolk and San Diego, and What the Records Leave Out
Norfolk (46 cases) had the same punitive discharge rate as Camp Pendleton, 65%, and a median confinement of 5 months. San Diego (37 cases) had a median confinement of 6 months and a punitive discharge rate of 41%. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Pendleton, California | 60 | 16% | 0 of 9 | 7 months | 65% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 46 | 29% | 6 of 13 | 5 months | 65% |
| San Diego, California | 37 | 38% | 5 of 14 | 6 months | 41% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California with a trial date in 2021 (60 cases).
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
- Camp Pendleton, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Camp Pendleton, California Tried in 2020 (previous / next)
- What Camp Pendleton, California Tried in 2022 (previous / next)
- What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Camp Pendleton, California, 2021
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.