Is Navy-Marine Corps Drunken Or Reckless Driving Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 113, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 113 › Navy-Marine Corps

Based on 39 cases · 2021–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Cases at the End of the Period

The number of driving cases went up late in the period. There were 7 cases in 2021, 6 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 9 in 2024, and 13 in 2025. The 39 cases, tried between February 2021 and November 2025, are 2% of the 1,882 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years.

Convictions followed the same pattern. The highest count was 13 in 2025, when Article 113 was part of 4% of convictions with offenses listed. In 2021–2022, the offense appeared in 13 of 707 convictions (2%). In 2024–2025, it appeared in 19 of 657 (3%), a larger share. Using the share of convictions keeps years of different size comparable. The records do not show the reason for the increase.

Many Cases Were Contested, Few Ended in Acquittal

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 36 records that list a plea, 17 were contested and 19 were guilty pleas. That 47% contested share compares with 34% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

Only 1 of the 17 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (6%), compared with 25% across both services. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.

Sentences Were Lighter Than Most

Confinement was part of 69% of the 36 convictions. Half of those terms were 3 months or less. The median across the Navy and Marine Corps was 6 months. No confinement was adjudged in 31% of convictions here, compared with 22% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A sentence without confinement can still include other punishment, such as a discharge.

Most confinement terms were short. Terms under 6 months made up 44% of convictions. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up only 8%, compared with 21% elsewhere. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 6 of 36 convictions (17%), compared with 22%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in a case.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

Of 32 convicted enlisted members, 13 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (41%). That was lower than the 59% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 2 of those discharges were dishonorable. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Driving Charges and Other Charges

Article 113 was the only charge in 13 of the 39 cases. In other cases, it was charged with Article 92 (orders violation) in 9 cases, Article 121 (larceny) in 6, and Article 86 (AWOL), Article 134 (the general article), and Article 128 (assault) in 5 each. When other charges are present, the sentence covers all of them.

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 is capped at one year of confinement and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement.

Rank and Installations

Among the accused with rank recorded, 25 were junior enlisted, 9 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. The accused here were more junior than in all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years.

Camp Pendleton, California, had the most cases, with 11. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 4; MCAS Miramar, California, and Okinawa, Japan, 3 each; and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 2. Together they account for 59% of the 39 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not by themselves show a local problem.

Limits of the Trial Records

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than 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 parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules.

Driving incidents handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action do not appear here. The records do not describe the evidence, such as test results, or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 113 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.