How Navy-Marine Corps Conspiracy Cases Ended in 2020

Trends › By Offense › Article 81 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2020

Based on 26 cases · 2020 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sentences Were Shorter Than in 2019

The largest change from 2019 was in sentence length. Median confinement went from 1.1 years in 2019 to 7 months in 2020. The share of enlisted convictions with a punitive discharge went from 94% to 73%.

Other figures also changed. The number of cases went from 32 to 26. The contested share went from 0% to 14%, and the general court-martial share went from 56% to 38%. Convictions with confinement stayed at 100% in both years. In numbers this small, a few cases can change each figure, so the comparison shows direction, not size.

Every Case Ended in Confinement

All 26 cases produced a conviction, and all 26 sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, slightly higher than the 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020. A quarter of sentences were 1.3 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Sentence Lengths by Band

The most common band was under 6 months, with 11 convictions (42%), slightly higher than the 36% service share. Another 7 (27%) were between 6 months and 1 year, compared with 23%.

Sentences longer than one year followed 8 of 26 convictions (31%), compared with 26% across the service. Of those, 7 (27%) were between 1 and 5 years and 1 (4%) was 5 years or more. Every conviction included confinement, while 15% of all Navy and Marine Corps convictions did not.

Special Courts-Martial Heard Most Cases

Of the 26 cases, 16 were tried at a special court-martial and 10 at a general court-martial. The general share, 38%, was about the same as the 41% across the service.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, while a general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. The median confinement was 1.6 years at the general level and 4 months at the special level.

Discharges After Conviction

Of 26 convicted enlisted members, 19 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (73%), and 4 of those were dishonorable. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 62%.

A punitive discharge is part of the sentence. Members whose sentence does not include one can still be separated administratively. These records do not show administrative separations.

Drug Offenses and Other Charges

In 24 of the 26 cases, at least one other article was charged with conspiracy. Article 112a (drug) was the most common other charge, in 13 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 7, Article 107 (false official statement) in 5, Article 131b (obstruction) in 4, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 3.

Each sentence covers these other charges, so the confinement and discharge figures are not for the conspiracy charge alone.

Pleas on Record

Only 14 of the 26 records list a plea. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Among those, 12 accused pleaded guilty and 2 contested at least one charge, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 14%, compared with 30% across the service. It is based on very few cases.

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. This data set gives no verdict figures for the 2 contested conspiracy cases, so no acquittal rate is stated here.

Rank and Installation

The accused were 22 junior enlisted members and 4 NCOs, with no officers. The group was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2020.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 5 of these cases, Norfolk, Virginia tried 4, and Camp Pendleton, California, Mayport, Florida, and Bremerton, Washington tried 3 each. Together they account for 69% of the 26 cases. The counts are low, and larger bases try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem at any single installation.

Limits of the Data

Only cases that went to court-martial are included. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and allegations with no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They also give the trial date rather than the date of the offense.

A 2020 trial may concern conduct from an earlier year. The sentences are adjudged sentences, so they do not show any reduction from a plea agreement, clemency, or an appeal.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.