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# Navy-Marine Corps Article 112a Cases in 2023
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2023/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:42.000Z
- Description: The Navy and Marine Corps tried 39 courts-martial charging Article 112a (drug) in 2023, down from 75 the year before. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 112a, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 112a](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps, 2023

**Short answer:** The Navy and Marine Corps tried 39 courts-martial charging Article 112a (drug) in 2023, down from 75 the year before. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A punitive discharge was part of the sentence for 51% of convicted enlisted members, compared with 63% overall.

Based on 39 cases · 2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Confinement Terms Were Short

In 36 cases, the accused was convicted of at least one charge, and 29 of those sentences included confinement (81%). The median confinement was 3 months, much lower than the 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023.

The most common sentence was under 6 months of confinement: 18 convictions (50%), compared with 33% overall. Only 3 of 36 convictions (8%) included more than one year, compared with 23% across the Navy and Marine Corps. No sentence was 5 years or more.

No confinement was adjudged in 7 convictions (19%), about the same as the 21% overall. Another 8 (22%) carried 6 months to 1 year. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 7           | 19%        | 21%                                            |
| Under 6 months                  | 18          | 50%        | 33%                                            |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 8           | 22%        | 23%                                            |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3           | 8%         | 19%                                            |
| 5 years or more                 | 0           | 0%         | 4%                                             |

## Fewer Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One was adjudged in 51% of enlisted convictions: 13 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023, the share was 63%.

For these cases, the share was 69% in 2022\. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

A bad-conduct discharge can be adjudged at either a special or a general court-martial. A dishonorable discharge, the more severe form, is available only at a general court-martial.

## What Changed From 2022

The number of cases went from 75 to 39\. Median confinement went from 5 months to 3 months. Convictions that included confinement went from 91% to 81%, and the contested share from 32% to 22%.

The general court-martial share went up, from 17% to 23%. Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 6 of 24 to 2 of 8\. In a group of 39, a few cases can change any of these figures, so they show direction, not a precise trend.

|                                     | 2022     | 2023     |
| ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cases                               | 75       | 39       |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 32%      | 22%      |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 24  | 2 of 8   |
| Convictions with confinement        | 91%      | 81%      |
| Median confinement                  | 5 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 69%      | 51%      |
| General courts-martial              | 17%      | 23%      |

## Pleas and Contested Cases

A plea is on record in 37 of the 39 cases: 29 guilty pleas and 8 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The 22% contested share was lower than the 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2023.

Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal (not guilty of every charge). A count that small does not support a meaningful rate.

## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial made up 23% of these cases (9 of 39). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial handled the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge.

The 5 dishonorable discharges and the 3 terms of more than one year therefore all came from the 9 general courts-martial.

## Drug Charges Alone or With Other Charges

Article 112a was the only charge in 20 of the 39 cases. In cases with other charges, the most common were Article 92 (orders violation) in 7, Article 81 (conspiracy) and Article 86 (AWOL) in 5 each, and Article 82 (solicitation) and Article 85 (desertion) in 3 each.

A sentence covers every conviction in the case. The sentence figures therefore include cases with other charges, such as desertion, along with drug-only cases.

## Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted

Among the accused with rank recorded, 33 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 4 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). No officer or warrant officer was charged in these cases. The accused here were more junior than in all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023, where 65% were junior enlisted.

Bremerton, Washington, tried 10 of these cases. Yokosuka, Japan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Great Lakes, Illinois, tried 4 each, and Norfolk, Virginia, tried 2\. Together they account for 62% of the 39\. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## What the Data Does Not Include

Only cases tried by court-martial are included. Drug use handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action does not appear. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

The records list trial dates, not offense dates. A case tried in 2023 may involve conduct from an earlier year. The year-to-year figures here count cases by the year of trial, not the year of the drug use.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 112a on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2023 that charged Article 112a (39 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2022.

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

- [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [How Navy-Marine Corps Drug Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2022/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 112a Cases in 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2024/) (previous / next)
- [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/) (the full trend)
- [Drug at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2018/)
- [Drug at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2020: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2020/)
- [How Navy-Marine Corps Drug Cases Ended in 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2019/)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-sent-2017-2025/)
- [S3 E52: What You Need to Know About Positive UAs in the Military](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s3e52-what-you-need-to-know-about-positive-uas-in-the-military/) (podcast, members)
- [Article 112a explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [How Navy-Marine Corps Drug Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2022/)Next: [Navy-Marine Corps Article 112a Cases in 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-2024/) →

**Compare: federal court.** [Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-no-crime-of-drug-use-article-112a/) · [Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/)

**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.