> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# What Changed at MCAS Miramar, California After 2024? 42 Cases vs. 39
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/mcas-miramar-california-before-after-2024/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:34:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:17:27.000Z
- Description: MCAS Miramar, California tried 39 courts-martial in 2024–2026, compared with 42 in the longer 2019–2023 period. More of them were contested: 44%, up from 30%.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, MCAS Miramar, California, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [MCAS Miramar, California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-mcas-miramar-california/) › Before and after 2024

**Short answer:** MCAS Miramar, California tried 39 courts-martial in 2024–2026, compared with 42 in the longer 2019–2023 period. More of them were contested: 44%, up from 30%. Only 2 of 17 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (12%), compared with 26% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Based on 39 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## More Cases and More Contested Cases

The earlier period had about 8 cases a year at Miramar. Since 2024, there have been about 16 a year, counting full years only. The data shows 19 cases in 2024, 13 in 2025, and 7 so far in 2026, a partial year.

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In 2024–2026, 17 accused contested the charges and 22 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 44%. In 2019–2023, the share was 30%. In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps for 2024–2026, it was 36%.

|                                     | 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 |
| ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- |
| Cases                               | 42        | 39        |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 30%       | 44%       |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 6    | 2 of 17   |
| Convictions with confinement        | 74%       | 70%       |
| Median confinement                  | 6 months  | 6 months  |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 66%       | 53%       |
| General courts-martial              | 38%       | 31%       |

## How the Contested Cases Ended

Of the 17 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal (12%). That is lower than the 26% service-wide. Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal, in which the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. In 2019–2023, 0 of 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.

The contested share differed by court level. It was 48% at the 27 special courts-martial and 33% at the 12 general courts-martial. With only 17 contested cases, each verdict changes the acquittal rate noticeably, so the figures show direction more than precision.

## Fewer Punitive Discharges Than Before

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. In 2024–2026, 18 of 34 convicted enlisted members received one: 10 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. That rate, 53%, compares with 66% in 2019–2023 and 52% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

There was also 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Median Confinement Did Not Change

The median confinement was 6 months in both periods. That is the same as the 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2024–2026\. Convictions with any confinement went from 74% to 70%. A quarter of recent confinement sentences were 2 years or longer.

The sentence bands were similar to the rest of the service. Of the 37 convictions, 30% included no confinement, the same as the 30% service-wide. Miramar had more sentences between 6 months and 1 year: 19%, compared with 14%. It had more sentences of 5 years or longer: 11%, compared with 7%. It had fewer sentences longer than 1 year and under 5 years: 11%, compared with 13%. Sentences longer than one year were about as common as elsewhere: 8 of 37 convictions (22%), compared with 20%.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 11          | 30%        | 30%                                           |
| Under 6 months                  | 11          | 30%        | 35%                                           |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 7           | 19%        | 14%                                           |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4           | 11%        | 13%                                           |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 11%        | 7%                                            |

## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Of the 39 cases, 12 were general courts-martial (31%). The share was 37% across the Navy and Marine Corps and 38% at Miramar in 2019–2023\. The 12 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 2 years, and 33% were contested. The 27 special courts-martial had a median of 3 months, and 48% were contested.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

## Drugs, Orders, and the General Article

All 39 records list the charges. Article 112a drug offenses appeared in 18% of cases, more often than the 12% service-wide. Article 134, the general article, and Article 92 orders violations each appeared in 8 cases, 21% of the total.

Results for those 2 charges differed. Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that charge in 8 of 8 cases, with a median confinement of 3 months. Article 134 cases ended in a conviction in 7 of 8, with a median of 1.2 years.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 8     | 21%        | 21%                                          |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 8     | 21%        | 19%                                          |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7     | 18%        | 12%                                          |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                             | 6     | 15%        | 12%                                          |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 6     | 15%        | 15%                                          |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 4     | 10%        | 7%                                           |
| [Art. 113](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle  | 3     | 8%         | 3%                                           |
| [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL                                        | 3     | 8%         | 5%                                           |

## Results by Charge

A sentence covers every charge in the case. The median for each article describes whole cases that included that article, not the punishment for that article alone.

| Article                                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| ------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 134 General article                    | 8                 | 7 (7 of 8)              | 1.2 years                               |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8                 | 8 (8 of 8)              | 3 months                                |

## Rank and Similar Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 69% of the accused, NCOs 28%, and officers 3%. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 59%.

Jacksonville, Florida, and Great Lakes, Illinois, tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Jacksonville's contested share, 63%, was higher than Miramar's 44%. Great Lakes' share, 30%, was lower. Miramar's median confinement, 6 months, was the longest of the 3.

| Installation             | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
| ------------------------ | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| MCAS Miramar, California | 39    | 44%       | 2 of 17                             | 6 months           | 53%                           |
| Jacksonville, Florida    | 40    | 63%       | 4 of 24                             | 5 months           | 39%                           |
| Great Lakes, Illinois    | 31    | 30%       | 3 of 9                              | 4 months           | 56%                           |

## Rule Changes and Record Limits

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. The 2024–2026 trials therefore include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot show whether either change affected these numbers.

The records also do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Every court-martial tried at MCAS Miramar, California in 2019–2023 (42) and 2024–2026 (39).

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

- [MCAS Miramar, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-mcas-miramar-california/) (hub)
- [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub)
- [MCAS Miramar, California, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 42 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/mcas-miramar-california-courts-martial-2019-2023/)
- [What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024–2026? 39 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/mcas-miramar-california-courts-martial-2024-2026/)
- [What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2017–2018? 26 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/mcas-miramar-california-courts-martial-2017-2018/)
- [What Changed at MCAS Miramar, California After 2019? 26 Cases vs. 42](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/mcas-miramar-california-before-after-2019/)
- [Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-before-after-2019/)
- [Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-before-after-2024/)
- [Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/great-lakes-illinois-before-after-2019/)
- [S2 E2: Hazing on Miramar](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s2e2-hazing-on-miramar/) (podcast, members)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024–2026

- [Benjamin Adams](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-benjamin-adams/)
- [Stacy Allen](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-stacy-allen/)
- [Alexander Douvas](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-alexander-douvas/)
- [John Ferriter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-john-ferriter/)
- [Todd Gaston](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-todd-gaston/)
- [Matthew Harris](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-matthew-harris/)
- [Paul Laplante](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-paul-laplante/)
- [Yong Lee](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-yong-lee/)
- [Derek Poteet](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-derek-poteet/)
- [David Segraves](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-david-segraves/)
- [Aran Walsh](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-aran-walsh/)

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.

**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.