Drug at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2020: The Year in Numbers
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 112a (drug) in 112 cases in 2020. The median confinement was 5 months, slightly lower than the 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Only 10% of the cases with a plea on record were contested, compared with 30% overall.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 112a › Navy-Marine Corps, 2020
Short answer: Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged Article 112a (drug) in 112 cases in 2020. The median confinement was 5 months, slightly lower than the 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Only 10% of the cases with a plea on record were contested, compared with 30% overall.
Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 75% of the accused, NCOs 24%, and officers 2%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020, the junior enlisted share was 64%.
Most of these cases were tried at the lower court level. General courts-martial handled 28 of the 112 cases (25%), compared with 41% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The other 84 were special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Most Convictions Included Short Confinement
Of 110 convictions, 98 included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months overall.
The most common sentence was under 6 months of confinement: 52 convictions (47%), compared with 36% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Another 24 convictions (22%) carried 6 months to 1 year, about the same as the overall 23%. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 22 of 110 convictions (20%), compared with 26%. Only 1 sentence was 5 years or more.
No confinement was adjudged in 12 convictions (11%), compared with 15% overall. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 12 | 11% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 52 | 47% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 24 | 22% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 21 | 19% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 1% | 6% |
Court Level and Sentence Length
The median confinement was 1.5 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. The longest terms therefore all came from the 28 general courts-martial.
The contested share was 10% at both court levels. The difference in sentences between the levels did not match any difference in how often cases were contested.
Punitive Discharges Were Less Common Than Overall
Of 107 convicted enlisted members, 61 received a punitive discharge: 51 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. That 57% share was lower than the 62% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020. It was also lower than the 64% for these cases in 2019.
Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. All 10 dishonorable discharges came from general courts-martial, because a special court-martial cannot adjudge one.
Plea Information Is Often Missing
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Only 51 of the 112 records list one. Of those, 46 were guilty pleas and 5 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
The 10% contested share compares with 30% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2020. Of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal. That count is too small to say much on its own.
Changes From 2019
The number of cases went from 128 in 2019 to 112 in 2020. Median confinement went from 6 months to 5 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 64% to 57%. The contested share went from 9% to 10%, and the general court-martial share from 23% to 25%.
Convictions that included confinement were about the same: 90% in 2019 and 89% in 2020. Each of these changes involves a modest number of cases. They show direction, not precise trends.
| 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 128 | 112 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 9% | 10% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 5 of 6 | 1 of 5 |
| Convictions with confinement | 90% | 89% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64% | 57% |
| General courts-martial | 23% | 25% |
Other Charges in the Same Cases
In 69 of the 112 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 18, Article 107 (false official statement) in 14, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 13, Article 131b (obstruction) in 12, and Article 128 (assault) in 10. One sentence covers every conviction in a case. The confinement and discharge figures therefore include both drug-only cases and cases with several other offenses.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 21 of these cases. Camp Pendleton, California, tried 18; Bremerton, Washington, 15; Norfolk, Virginia, 12; and Parris Island, South Carolina, 7. Together they account for 65% of the 112. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Drug cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear. For records that omit the plea, the data cannot show whether the case was contested.
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.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2020 that charged Article 112a (112 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2019.
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
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Drug Cases Ended in 2019 (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 112a Cases in 2021 (previous / next)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (the full trend)
- Drug at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers
- How Navy-Marine Corps Drug Cases Ended in 2022
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 112a Cases in 2017
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?
- S3 E52: What You Need to Know About Positive UAs in the Military (podcast, members)
- Article 112a explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.