> ## 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. # Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial With Article 112a and Article 81, 2021–2026 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-and-article-81-charged-together/ - Published: 2026-10-30T05:28:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:45:51.000Z - Description: From 2021–2026, 57 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 112a (drug) and Article 81 (conspiracy). All 57 ended in a conviction, and the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 112a, Article 81, 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, with Article 81 **Short answer:** From 2021–2026, 57 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 112a (drug) and Article 81 (conspiracy). All 57 ended in a conviction, and the median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases. None of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (0 of 11), compared with 30% for Article 112a cases. Based on 57 cases · 2021–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Longer Confinement in Drug Conspiracy Cases Of the 57 convictions, 50 included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 5 months for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases in 2021–2026\. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.2 years or longer. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 16 of the 57 convictions (28%). Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases, the share was 13%. The most common band here was 6 months to 1 year, with 21 convictions (37%), compared with 24%. Terms under 6 months made up 23%, compared with 44%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 7% of convictions here, compared with 2%, and 7 convictions (12%) carried no confinement. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases overall | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 7 | 12% | 19% | | Under 6 months | 13 | 23% | 44% | | 6 months to 1 year | 21 | 37% | 24% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 21% | 11% | | 5 years or more | 4 | 7% | 2% | ## Few Contested Cases and No Full Acquittals The plea is listed in 56 of the 57 records. Of those, 45 were guilty pleas and 11 were contested, meaning the accused entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 20%, was lower than the 30% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases. None of the 11 contested cases ended in a full acquittal. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases, 30% of contested cases with a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Of the 11 contested cases here, 3 (27%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another. ## Punitive Discharges for Most Enlisted Members Of 55 convicted enlisted members, 46 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (84%). In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases, the rate was 63%. Of the 46 discharges, 11 were dishonorable. The group includes 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Sentences at Each Court Level General courts-martial heard 23 of the 57 cases (40%). In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases, the general share was 22%. Special courts-martial heard the other 34 cases. At the general courts-martial, 87% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.3 years. At the special courts-martial, 88% included confinement, and the median was 6 months. A special court-martial cannot adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, which caps confinement at six months and allows no punitive discharge. ## Junior Enlisted Members Made Up Most of the Accused By rank, the accused were 51 junior enlisted members, 4 NCOs, and 1 officer. The group is more junior than the accused in Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases overall. These counts cover the accused with rank recorded. ## Charges Besides Drugs and Conspiracy Every case included at least one charge besides Article 112a. Besides Article 81, the most frequent were Article 80 (attempt) in 5 cases, Article 82 (solicitation) in 5, Article 131b (obstruction) in 5, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 4. A sentence covers all the charges in the case. The sentences here are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. ## Years and Installations The records show cases from January 2021 through September 2026\. There were 28 in 2021, 9 in 2022, 5 in 2023, 4 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 4 in 2026\. The 2026 count is a partial year. Norfolk, Virginia tried 9 of these cases, and Camp Pendleton, California tried 8\. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 5 each, and San Diego, California tried 4\. These five installations account for 54% of the 57 cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds. ## Law Changes and What Is Not Recorded 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, a military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date. The records show trial dates, not offense dates. They also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations. Cases handled without a court-martial are not part of these counts. 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 trial dates in 2021–2026 that charged both Article 112a and Article 81 (57 cases), compared with all 341 Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases in those years. 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) - [Article 81 (Conspiracy): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-81-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Article 112a With Article 128 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-and-article-128-charged-together/) - [Article 112a With Article 131b in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-and-article-131b-charged-together/) - [Article 112a With Article 92 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-and-article-92-charged-together/) - [Navy-Marine Corps Cases Charging Both Article 112a and Article 86](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-and-article-86-charged-together/) - [Army Cases Charging Both Article 112a and Article 121](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-and-article-121-charged-together/) - [Army Cases Charging Both Article 112a and Article 92](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-and-article-92-charged-together/) - [Army Courts-Martial With Article 112a and Article 120, 2021–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-and-article-120-charged-together/) - [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) **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.