MCAS Miramar, California in 2024: 19 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
MCAS Miramar, California held 19 courts-martial in 2024. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 26% of cases, compared with 14% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › MCAS Miramar, California › 2024
Short answer: MCAS Miramar, California held 19 courts-martial in 2024. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 26% of cases, compared with 14% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 42% of cases were contested, compared with 34%, and none of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Pleas and Verdicts
Of the 19 cases, 11 had a guilty plea and 8 had a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 42%, compared with 34% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
All 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a conviction on at least one charge (0 of 8 full acquittals). Every one of the 19 cases ended in a conviction.
Drug and Conspiracy Charges
All 19 records list the charges. Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 5 cases (26%). The service shares were 14% and 22%.
Conspiracy under Article 81 appeared in 3 cases (16%), compared with 3% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Domestic violence under Article 128b also appeared in 3 cases (16%), compared with 13%. Article 92 appeared in 4 cases (21%). A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 26% | 22% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 26% | 14% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 21% | 16% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 16% | 13% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 3 | 16% | 3% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 1 | 5% | 7% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 1 | 5% | 1% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 5% | 4% |
Confinement and Discharges
Confinement was part of 14 of the 19 sentences. The median confinement was 6 months, close to the 5 months for the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 2 years or longer.
Among 18 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (61%), compared with 58% across the service. 5 of the 11 were dishonorable discharges. These are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Who Was Tried
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 72% of the accused and NCOs made up 28%. No officers were tried. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 58%.
There were 7 general and 12 special courts-martial. The general share of 37% was about the same as the 38% service-wide. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Norfolk and Kaneohe Bay in 2024
Norfolk, Virginia tried 24 cases with a contested share of 26%, and 4 of its 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 25 cases with a contested share of 22% and 0 of 5 full acquittals. Their median confinement was 4 months and 5 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCAS Miramar, California | 19 | 42% | 0 of 8 | 6 months | 61% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 24 | 26% | 4 of 6 | 4 months | 47% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 25 | 22% | 0 of 5 | 5 months | 78% |
The December 2023 Rules
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Because the records give trial dates and not offense dates, 2024 trials include cases under both sets of rules.
What Is Not in the Records
Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at MCAS Miramar, California with a trial date in 2024 (19 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
- MCAS Miramar, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024–2026? 39 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
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: 2017
- S2 E2: Hazing on Miramar (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024
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.