Article 112a Cases at Mayport, Florida, 2013–2018: 21 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Mayport, Florida › Article 112a, 2013–2018

Based on 21 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Drug Cases Were Contested More Often Than Elsewhere

This post covers 1 offense at 1 installation: Article 112a drug cases at Mayport, Florida, from 2013 through 2018. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 11% of Article 112a cases with a plea recorded were contested. At Mayport, the contested share was higher.

Of the 21 cases, 20 list a plea. Of those, 4 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, and 16 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 20%, compared with 11% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases.

With only 4 contested cases, a single trial either way would change that figure noticeably. The difference describes these 21 cases. It does not predict future cases.

Share of Mayport's Courts-Martial

The 21 drug cases are 22% of the 97 courts-martial tried at Mayport in 2013–2018. They were tried between April 2013 and October 2018.

The number of cases changed from year to year. The records show 3 cases in 2013, 1 in 2014, 2 in 2015, 8 in 2016, 5 in 2017, and 2 in 2018. The year 2016 had the most cases. The records cannot show why, and they give only trial dates, not offense dates.

Sentences After Conviction

Of the 21 cases, 18 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those 18 sentences, 16 included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months median across Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases. A quarter of the sentences were 11 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case. A case with a drug charge and a larceny or absence charge has 1 sentence for all of them.

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common

Of 18 enlisted members convicted, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (61%). That is lower than the 73% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases. Of those 11 discharges, 3 were dishonorable discharges.

The bad-conduct discharge and the dishonorable discharge are the punitive discharges a court-martial can impose on enlisted members. A special court-martial cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Mayport tried 18 of these cases at a special court-martial and 3 at a general court-martial. The general court-martial share was 14%, lower than the 21% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. It can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 112a was the only charge in 9 of the 21 cases. The other cases included at least 1 more article. Article 121 (larceny) was the most common additional charge, in 5 cases. Article 86 (absence without leave) appeared in 3, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 3, Article 80 (attempt) in 2, and Article 128 (assault) in 2.

Rank of the Accused

The accused were 14 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 7 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 officers. That group is more senior than the accused in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

All 21 accused were enlisted members. For that reason, every punitive discharge figure in this post is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, not an officer dismissal.

Before the 2019 Rules

Every case here was tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to the cases here.

What the Records Leave Out

Drug cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. This count includes only cases that reached a courtroom. The records also do not describe the evidence, such as test results, or the plea terms. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so the plea counts use only records that list one.

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

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.