> ## 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 Article 121 Cases in 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2019/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:17:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:32.000Z - Description: Of 47 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 121 (larceny) in 2019, 45 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 121, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 121](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-121-courts-martial/) › Navy-Marine Corps, 2019 **Short answer:** Of 47 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 121 (larceny) in 2019, 45 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 87% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 60% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Based on 47 cases · 2019 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Punitive Discharges Than in 2018 Of 45 convicted enlisted members, 39 received a punitive discharge: 36 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. That 87% rate was higher than the 60% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019\. It was also higher than the 70% for larceny cases in 2018. A bad-conduct discharge can be adjudged at a special or general court-martial; a dishonorable discharge requires a general court-martial. A sentence without either does not rule out a later administrative separation, which falls outside these records. ## Median Confinement Was Higher Than the Service Median Of the 45 convictions, 42 included confinement (93%). The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A quarter of terms were 1.2 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, meaning the punishment announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. The sentence covers every charge in the case. The median larceny sentence in 2019 was under a year. But a quarter of terms were 1.2 years or more, so a sizable group of sentences were longer than one year. ## Sentences by Court Level 17 cases were general courts-martial and 30 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 36%, compared with 43% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. The median confinement was 2 years at the 17 general courts-martial and 7 months at the 30 special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only the general level can adjudge more than a year of confinement. ## Length of Confinement The most common range was 6 months to 1 year: 19 convictions (42%), compared with 23% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 11 (24%) included under 6 months. Only 3 convictions (7%) had no confinement, compared with 18% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 12 of 45 convictions (27%) included more than one year of confinement, about the same as the 24% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of those, 11 were between 1 and 5 years and 1 was 5 years or more. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 3 | 7% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 11 | 24% | 35% | | 6 months to 1 year | 19 | 42% | 23% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11 | 24% | 19% | | 5 years or more | 1 | 2% | 5% | ## Rank of the Accused Among the accused with rank recorded, 23 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 22 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with no officers. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019, 57% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group was more senior. ## Pleas in the Records A plea appears in 19 of the 47 records, and all 19 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. 28% of all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019 were contested. Records from before December 2020 often leave out the plea, so the cases without one cannot be placed in either group. The records for this year give no count of contested verdicts or acquittals for this group, so the results of contested trials cannot be measured here. ## Other Charges in These Cases Article 121 was the only charge in 15 of 47 cases. Other cases also charged Article 92 (orders violation) in 11, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 10, Article 131b (obstruction) in 7, Article 112a (drug) in 6, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 5\. The sentence in each case covers those charges too. ## Changes From 2018 There were 54 cases in 2018 and 47 in 2019\. Median confinement was 6 months in 2018 and 9 months in 2019\. Convictions with confinement went from 91% to 93%. The general court-martial share went from 35% to 36%. The recorded contested share was 0% in both years, based on incomplete plea records. In groups of this size, a few cases can change any figure, so the comparison shows direction, not exact change. | | 2018 | 2019 | | ----------------------------- | -------- | -------- | | Cases | 54 | 47 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0% | 0% | | Convictions with confinement | 91% | 93% | | Median confinement | 6 months | 9 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 70% | 87% | | General courts-martial | 35% | 36% | ## Installations, Reforms, and Limits Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 16 of these cases, San Diego, California had 8, Camp Pendleton, California had 4, and Norfolk, Virginia and Okinawa, Japan had 3 each. Together they account for 72% of the 47 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, so these trials were in its first year. The records do not show which cases involved offenses before that date. They also do not describe the evidence, plea terms, or larceny handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 121 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?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 2019 that charged Article 121 (47 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2018. 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 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-121-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub) - [Larceny at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2018/) (previous / next) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2020/) (previous / next) - [How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-trend-2017-2025/) (the full trend) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2017/) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2021/) - [How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2024/) - [Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-sent-2017-2025/) - [Article 121 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ← Previous: [Larceny at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2018/)Next: [How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-121-2020/) → **Compare: federal court.** [Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-theft-fraud-dollar-loss-vs-article-121/) **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.