How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2020

Trends › By Offense › Article 121 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2020

Based on 32 cases · 2020 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Many Convictions Without Confinement

13 of 32 convictions (41%) had no confinement. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020, that share was 15%.

Among the convictions that included confinement, the median was 4 months, and a quarter were 8 months or more. The median for all Navy and Marine Corps cases was 6 months. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

In this year, a larceny conviction often did not include confinement. The records do not show what led to any individual sentence. They omit the evidence and the circumstances of each case.

Few Long Terms

Only 3 of 32 convictions (9%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 26% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. None included 5 years or more. Another 10 (31%) included under 6 months and 6 (19%) included 6 months to 1 year.

Confinement of more than a year is possible only at a general court-martial. Most of these cases were special courts-martial.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

Of the 32 cases, 8 were general courts-martial (25%), compared with 41% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020. The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

The small general court-martial share is consistent with the sentence table. Only 3 convictions included more than one year, the limit for a special court-martial. The records cannot show why individual cases were sent to one level or the other.

Discharges Were Less Common

Among 30 convicted enlisted members, 13 received a punitive discharge (43%), and every one of them was a bad-conduct discharge, not a dishonorable discharge. The rate for all Navy and Marine Corps cases was 62%.

The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not track separations.

Changes From 2019

Almost every sentence measure was lower in 2020 than in 2019. Convictions with confinement went from 93% to 59%. Median confinement went from 9 months to 4 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 87% to 43%. The general court-martial share went from 36% to 25%.

The number of cases went from 47 to 32. In groups this small, a few cases can change the figures a great deal. The records cannot explain the changes, so they show direction, not precise measures.

Pleas, Where Listed

Only 14 of 32 records list a plea: 12 guilty pleas and 2 not-guilty or mixed pleas. That makes 14% contested, compared with 30% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these shares cover only the cases where it was recorded.

Who Was Charged

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 58% of the accused, NCOs 39%, and officers 3%. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020, junior enlisted members were 64% of the accused.

The records do not break down sentences by rank, so they cannot show whether junior enlisted members and NCOs received different outcomes in this group.

Other Charges Filed

Article 121 was the only charge in 13 of the 32 cases. The other articles charged included Article 107 (false official statement) in 6, Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 86 (AWOL) in 5 each, Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards) in 4, and Article 131b (obstruction) in 3.

Installations and Limits

Okinawa, Japan had 7 of these cases, San Diego, California had 6, Jacksonville, Florida had 3, and Quantico, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 2 each. Together they account for 62% of the 32 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, any plea terms, or larceny handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 121 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial

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.