Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, January 2019: The Month in Review
Navy and Marine Corps records show 27 courts-martial in January 2019. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 40% of cases with charges listed, compared with 30% for both services across 2019.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › January 2019
Short answer: Navy and Marine Corps records show 27 courts-martial in January 2019. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 40% of cases with charges listed, compared with 30% for both services across 2019. Of convicted enlisted members, 70% received a punitive discharge, compared with 60% for the year.
Drug Charges Were Most Common
Of 27 records, 25 list charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, covering wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 10 cases (40%), compared with 30% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2019.
Of those drug cases, 8 of 10 (80%) ended in a conviction on that article, and the median confinement was 8 months.
The Rest of the Charge List
Article 128 (assault) appeared in 32% of cases, about the same as its 34% share for the year. In 5 of 8 assault cases, the accused was convicted of assault. The median confinement was 8 months, the same as for the drug charge.
Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 16%, compared with 7% for the year, and Article 121 (larceny) also appeared in 16%, compared with 11%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) also appeared in 16%, about the same as its 14% yearly share.
Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 12% of cases, higher than its 7% yearly share. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) also appeared in 12%, lower than its 17%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 40% | 30% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 32% | 34% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 16% | 7% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 16% | 11% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 16% | 14% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 12% | 17% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 3 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 8% | 5% |
More Punitive Discharges Than the Year
Of 20 convicted enlisted members, 14 received a punitive discharge: 12 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. The share was 70%, compared with 60% for the year.
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.
Fewer Long Sentences
There were 21 convictions on at least one charge, and 17 of those sentences included confinement (81%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median for 2019.
Long terms were less common than usual. Only 3 of 21 convictions (14%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 24% for the year. Of those, 1 was 5 years or more. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 33% of convictions, compared with 23% for 2019.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each reflects every charge of conviction in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 19% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 33% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 33% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 10% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 5% | 5% |
Sentencing by Court Level
The month had 10 general courts-martial and 17 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 37%, compared with 43% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
At the general level, 4 of 5 convictions included confinement, and the median was 2.9 years. At the special level, 81% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 6 months.
Few Contested Cases, All Ending in Full Acquittal
Only 15 of the 27 records list a plea. Of those, 12 accused pleaded guilty, and 3 pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share, 20%, was lower than the 28% for the year.
All 3 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. That count is too small to show a pattern. In the records available, every conviction this month came from a guilty plea or from a case without a recorded plea.
Compared With January 2018
January 2018 had 52 cases; January 2019 had 27. The median confinement fell from 1 year to 6 months. The general court-martial share fell from 54% to 37%.
The contested share fell from 28% to 20%. Convictions with confinement fell from 89% to 81%. Punitive discharges went from 69% to 70%. In small groups, a few cases can change a percentage, so these figures show direction only.
| January 2018 | January 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 52 | 27 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 28% | 20% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 5 | 3 of 3 |
| Convictions with confinement | 89% | 81% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 69% | 70% |
| General courts-martial | 54% | 37% |
Rank and Location
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and NCOs each made up 46% of the accused, and officers made up 8%. Across 2019, junior enlisted were 57%, so the January group was more senior.
Camp Pendleton, California, had 6 cases. San Diego, California, had 5, and Norfolk, Virginia, had 4. Pensacola, Florida, had 2, and Parris Island, South Carolina, had 1. Those five account for 67% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Limits
The records cover only cases that reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases closed without action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or any plea terms. Navy and Marine Corps records from this period also often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that include one.
The records also give trial dates rather than offense dates. A case tried in January 2019 may involve conduct from well before that month, so the trial date does not show when the alleged conduct took place.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in January 2019 (27 cases), compared with the whole year.
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
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- December 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 27 Cases (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, February 2019: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review (the whole year)
- April 2018 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 43 Cases
- April 2020 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 18 Cases
- August 2017 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 37 Cases
- August 2019 at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: 34 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.