How Norfolk, Virginia Handled Drug Cases (Article 112a), 2013–2018
Drug cases at Norfolk, Virginia were contested more often than elsewhere from 2013 to 2018: 21% of 52 Article 112a cases, compared with 11% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal (73%).
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Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › Article 112a, 2013–2018
Short answer: Drug cases at Norfolk, Virginia were contested more often than elsewhere from 2013 to 2018: 21% of 52 Article 112a cases, compared with 11% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal (73%). Of convicted enlisted members, 63% received a punitive discharge, lower than the 73% service-wide.
Most Contested Drug Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal
Of 11 contested Article 112a (drug) cases that reached a verdict at Norfolk, 8 ended in a full acquittal. That 73% full-acquittal rate is slightly higher than the 70% in Navy and Marine Corps-wide drug cases. The rate is based on 11 verdicts, so one different verdict would change it by several points.
None of the contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. Every contested case ended in either a full acquittal or a conviction. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
Not-Guilty Pleas Were More Common
Of the 52 accused, 41 pleaded guilty and 11 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 21% was higher than the 11% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
The contested share was 0% at general courts-martial and 26% at special courts-martial. Every drug case tried at a general court-martial here ended in a guilty plea.
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
Special courts-martial handled 42 of the 52 cases, and general courts-martial handled 10 (19%). The median confinement was 2.2 years at general courts-martial and 5 months at special courts-martial.
A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Sentences About the Same as Service-Wide
There were 44 convictions, and 41 included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months for drug cases across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of sentences were 10 months or longer.
Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 8 of 44 convictions (18%), about the same as the 17% service-wide. There were 3 sentences of 5 years or more (7%), compared with 3% elsewhere. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 7% | 4% |
| Under 6 months | 20 | 45% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 13 | 30% | 29% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 11% | 14% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 7% | 3% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 43 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 24 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. That 63% share was lower than the 73% across Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 112a cases. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not mean the member stayed in the service. An administrative separation can follow a court-martial, and those separations are not in these records.
A More Senior Group Than Usual
Most of the accused in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases are junior enlisted members: 78% service-wide. The Norfolk group was more senior. It had 36 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 15 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. The records do not show how long any accused had served or what duties they held.
Other Charges in the Same Cases
In 29 of the 52 cases, at least one other article was charged with the drug offense. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 10, Article 86 (AWOL) in 7, Article 107 (false official statement) in 5, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 5, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 4. When another charge is included, the sentence covers it too. The sentences here therefore do not measure the drug offense alone.
More Cases Later in the Period
The cases were tried from January 2013 to December 2018. The number rose toward the end: 4 in 2013, 8 in 2014, 7 in 2015, 7 in 2016, 11 in 2017, and 15 in 2018. Over the whole period, drug cases were 17% of the 308 courts-martial at Norfolk, Virginia.
Every trial here was before January 1, 2019, when the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses before 2019 kept the old rules.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence, test results, or plea terms. Drug use handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not in these records. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, and the plea counts here use only records that list them.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial tried at Norfolk, Virginia in 2013–2018 that charged Article 112a (52 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 112a in those years.
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
- Norfolk, Virginia: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Norfolk, Virginia, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 308 Cases
- What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2019–2023? 205 Courts-Martial
- What Was Tried at Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026? 77 Courts-Martial
- Article 112a at Norfolk, Virginia Before and After 2019
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025
- S3 E52: What You Need to Know About Positive UAs in the Military (podcast, members)
- Article 112a explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
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.