> ## 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 Courts-Martial, February 2019: The Month in Review
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-february-2019/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:09:41.000Z
- Description: The records list 43 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2019. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 58% of them, compared with 30% for all of 2019. Of convicted enlisted members, 87% received a punitive discharge, higher than the 60% share for the year.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › February 2019

**Short answer:** The records list 43 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from February 2019\. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 58% of them, compared with 30% for all of 2019\. Of convicted enlisted members, 87% received a punitive discharge, higher than the 60% share for the year.

Based on 43 cases · February 2019 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Drug Charges in Most Cases

Article 112a, which covers wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 25 of the 43 cases. That share was 58%, compared with 30% across the Navy and Marine Corps in 2019\. Every case in the month has a charge list, and a case counts once under each article it lists.

Of the 25 cases charging Article 112a, 24 (96%) ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 6 months.

| Article                                                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 25                | 24 (96%)                | 6 months                                |
| Art. 128 Assault                                            | 11                | 9 (82%)                 | 2.8 years                               |

## Other Charges

Article 128 (assault) appeared in 26% of cases, lower than its 34% share for the year. Of the 11 assault cases, 9 (82%) ended in a conviction on that article, and the median confinement for those convicted of it was 2.8 years.

Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 16% of cases, compared with 7% for 2019\. Article 80 (attempts) appeared in 14%, compared with 10%, and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) in 12%, compared with 8%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) also appeared in 12%, compared with its 14% yearly share.

Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 9% of cases. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 7%, lower than its 11% share for the year.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 25    | 58%        | 30%                                              |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 11    | 26%        | 34%                                              |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy                                                                                                                                 | 7     | 16%        | 7%                                               |
| [Art. 80](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Attempts                                    | 6     | 14%        | 10%                                              |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 5     | 12%        | 8%                                               |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 5     | 12%        | 14%                                              |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice                                                                                                                      | 4     | 9%         | 7%                                               |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                                   | 3     | 7%         | 11%                                              |

## Punitive Discharges for Most Convicted Enlisted Members

Of 38 convicted enlisted members, 33 received a punitive discharge: 24 bad-conduct discharges and 9 dishonorable discharges. The share was 87%, compared with 60% for the Navy and Marine Corps across 2019.

The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.

## Nearly Every Conviction Included Confinement

Confinement was part of 37 of the 39 convictions. Only 2 convictions (5%) included no confinement, compared with 18% for the year.

The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the yearly median. Terms longer than one year were adjudged in 10 of 39 convictions (26%), about the same as 24% for both services overall. Of those, 2 convictions were 5 years or more. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 31% of convictions, compared with 23% for 2019.

All of these are adjudged sentences: what the court imposed at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and covering every charge of conviction.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 2           | 5%         | 18%                                              |
| Under 6 months                  | 15          | 38%        | 35%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 12          | 31%        | 23%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8           | 21%        | 19%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 2           | 5%         | 5%                                               |

## Sentencing at Each Court Level

The 19 general courts-martial made up 44% of the month's cases, about the same as 43% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. There, 94% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2 years.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. At the 24 special courts-martial, 96% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 4 months.

## Pleas Where Recorded

Only 21 of the 43 records list a plea, a frequent gap in Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020\. Of those, 16 were guilty pleas and 5 were contested. A contested case has a not-guilty plea to at least one charge.

The contested share was 24%, compared with 28% for 2019\. Of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal.

## One Year Earlier

February 2018 had 32 cases, and February 2019 had 43\. The median confinement was 6 months in both months. The contested share rose from 19% to 24%.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members rose from 54% to 87%. Convictions with confinement rose from 90% to 95%. The general court-martial share fell from 53% to 44%. Monthly figures are based on few cases, so they show direction, not precise size.

|                                     | February 2018 | February 2019 |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------- |
| Cases                               | 32            | 43            |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 19%           | 24%           |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 3        | 3 of 5        |
| Convictions with confinement        | 90%           | 95%           |
| Median confinement                  | 6 months      | 6 months      |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 54%           | 87%           |
| General courts-martial              | 53%           | 44%           |

## Rank and Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 60% of the accused, NCOs made up 38%, and officers made up 2%. The junior enlisted share was about the same as the 57% across 2019.

Camp Pendleton, California, had the most cases, with 10\. Bremerton, Washington, had 7\. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 5\. San Diego, California, had 4, and Okinawa, Japan, had 3\. Those five account for 67% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## What the Records Do Not Show

The records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not include the evidence, the terms of plea agreements, or any misconduct handled without a court-martial. They date each case by trial, not by offense.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [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 February 2019 (43 cases), compared with the whole year.

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

- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, January 2019: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-january-2019/) (previous / next)
- [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in March 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-march-2019/) (previous / next)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-2019-year-in-review/) (the whole year)
- [April 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2018/)
- [April 2020 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 18 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-april-2020/)
- [August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2017/)
- [August 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 34 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-august-2019/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, January 2019: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-january-2019/)Next: [What the Navy-Marine Corps Tried in March 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial-march-2019/) →

**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.