Navy-Marine Corps Article 121 Cases in 2022
Of the 22 convicted enlisted members in the 23 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 121 (larceny) in 2022, 45% received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 121 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2022
Short answer: Of the 22 convicted enlisted members in the 23 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charging Article 121 (larceny) in 2022, 45% received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. Only 26% of the cases were contested, compared with 33% across the service.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 22 convicted enlisted members, 10 received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. That 45% share was lower than the 64% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.
Changes From 2021
The case count went from 38 in 2021 to 23 in 2022. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 62% to 45%, and the median confinement went from 8 months to 6 months. Convictions with confinement went from 76% to 86%.
The contested share went from 32% to 26%, and full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 0 of 12 to 1 of 6. The general court-martial share went from 32% to 35%. With groups this small, a few cases can move these figures, so they show direction rather than precise change.
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 38 | 23 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 32% | 26% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 12 | 1 of 6 |
| Convictions with confinement | 76% | 86% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 62% | 45% |
| General courts-martial | 32% | 35% |
Confinement
Of the 23 cases, 22 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 19 of those sentences included confinement (86%). The median was 6 months, the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 9 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Sentence Bands
Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 9 convictions (41%), compared with 25% across the service. Sentences under 6 months made up 8 (36%), and 3 (14%) had no confinement.
Only 2 of 22 convictions (9%) were longer than one year, compared with 20% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022. None reached 5 years. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 14% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 8 | 36% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 41% | 25% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 9% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 4% |
Pleas
Guilty pleas ended 17 of the cases, and 6 were contested with a not-guilty or mixed plea. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
Other Charges
In 17 of the 23 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 5, Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) in 4 each, Article 86 (AWOL) in 3, and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 2.
Rank, Court Level, and Installations
The accused were 12 NCOs and 11 junior enlisted members, with no officers. That group was more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022. General courts-martial heard 8 of the 23 cases (35%), and special courts-martial heard the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
San Diego, California, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 4 cases each. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; and Quantico, Virginia, had 2 each. Together these 5 installations account for 61% of the 23 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
What the Records Leave Out
The trials ran from March 2022 through November 2022. Larceny handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not in the data, and the records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
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.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2022 that charged Article 121 (23 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2021.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2021 (previous / next)
- Larceny at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2023: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- How Has Article 121 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (the full trend)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2017
- How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2020
- How Navy-Marine Corps Larceny Cases Ended in 2024
- Article 121 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025
- Article 121 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.