Camp Pendleton Courts-Martial Since 2020: The Numbers Behind S1 E32 and E33
Camp Pendleton, California, tried 359 courts-martial from 2020–2026 in these records. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years.
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Short answer: Camp Pendleton, California, tried 359 courts-martial from 2020–2026 in these records. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years. Only 8% of contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (5 of 65), compared with 25% service-wide.
Few Full Acquittals
The podcast episode S1 E33, Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case, covers this subject. This page looks at the base's trial records as a whole. The most notable figure is the low rate of full acquittals in contested cases.
Of 65 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal, or 8%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in the same years, the rate was 25%. Another 15 contested cases here (23%) ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 275 records that list a plea, 210 show a guilty plea and 65 show a contested case. The contested share was 24%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years, 34% were contested.
Guilty plea rates differed by charge. 84% of cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea (43 of 51), the highest of the most common charges. 71% of cases charging Article 92 ended in a guilty plea (37 of 52). The records do not explain why any accused pleaded guilty or contested. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave out the plea, and these counts use only the records that include it.
The Most Common Charges
Charges are listed in 348 of the 359 records, and each article is counted once per case. Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 84 cases. Drug offenses under Article 112a were next with 70, then orders violations under Article 92 with 65, and the general article, Article 134, with 63.
Most shares were about the same as the Navy and Marine Corps figures. Article 90, willfully disobeying a superior officer, was charged in 7% of cases here, compared with 4% service-wide. Article 120, sexual assault, was charged less often: 6% compared with 11%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 84 | 24% | 23% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 70 | 20% | 18% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 65 | 19% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 63 | 18% | 21% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 29 | 8% | 7% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 26 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 23 | 7% | 8% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 22 | 6% | 5% |
Conviction Rates by Article
For each of the 4 most common articles, almost every case charging the article ended in a conviction on it. The counts were 81 of 84 for Article 128 (96%), 68 of 70 for Article 112a (97%), 64 of 65 for Article 92 (98%), and 62 of 63 for Article 134 (98%).
The median confinement for a conviction on the article was 4 months for Article 112a and Article 92 and 2 years for Article 134. A case can include several articles, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 84 | 81 (96%) | 6 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 70 | 68 (97%) | 4 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 65 | 64 (98%) | 4 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 63 | 62 (98%) | 2 years |
How Long Were the Sentences?
There were 333 convictions, and 295 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years. A quarter of terms were 1.3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal.
The main difference was in the shortest sentences. Only 11% of convictions here included no confinement, compared with 22% service-wide. Terms under 6 months made up 41% of convictions, compared with 35%. Terms over one year were part of 80 of 333 convictions (24%), compared with 22%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 38 | 11% | 22% |
| Under 6 months | 136 | 41% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 79 | 24% | 20% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 58 | 17% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 22 | 7% | 6% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Camp Pendleton held 126 general and 226 special courts-martial, and 7 cases have no court level listed. The general court-martial share of 36% was lower than the 42% service-wide.
The median confinement was 2 years in general courts-martial and 3 months in special courts-martial. The contested shares were about the same: 25% and 23%.
Discharges and the Accused
66% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 59% across the Navy and Marine Corps. There were 147 bad-conduct discharges and 63 dishonorable discharges. All 6 convicted officers or warrant officers in the records were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Most of the accused were junior enlisted: 255 junior enlisted members, 66 NCOs, and 7 officers. This group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps overall.
Cases by Year
Camp Pendleton tried 57 cases in 2020, 60 in 2021, 61 in 2022, 39 in 2023, 50 in 2024, and 55 in 2025. The 37 cases in 2026 cover a partial year, through October.
Rule Changes and What the Records Leave Out
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not include. As a result, trials from 2024 onward include cases under both the old and new rules.
The records also do not show the evidence, any plea terms, or misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2020–2026.
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
- Episode Companions (hub)
- Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases
- What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial
- Inside 142 Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026
- Behind S2 E2: Courts-Martial at MCAS Miramar by the Numbers
- Fort Hood After 2009: What Its Courts-Martial Look Like Now
- Keesler AFB in the Records: The Data Behind S1 E11
- Panels by the Numbers: The Data Behind S2 E24, Farce of a Panel
- S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.