How San Diego, California Handled Drug Cases (Article 112a), 2019–2023

Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › Article 112a, 2019–2023

Based on 38 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common

The largest difference between San Diego and the rest of the service is the punitive discharge rate. A punitive discharge followed 43% of enlisted drug convictions here: 13 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. In Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 112a cases, the share was 64%.

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge imposed as part of a court-martial sentence. A member who did not receive one may still have been separated administratively afterward. Those separations are not in these records, so the records cannot show how many convicted members stayed in the service. There were only 2 dishonorable discharges. Most cases here were special courts-martial, which cannot impose that discharge.

Most Confinement Sentences Were Short

Confinement was part of 86% of the 35 convictions. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 5 months in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 112a cases. A quarter of confinement sentences were 7 months or longer.

Confinement under 6 months was the most common result: 18 convictions (51%), compared with 45% across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. Another 9 convictions (26%) carried 6 months to 1 year. Sentences longer than one year were 3 of 35 convictions (9%), compared with 16%. No sentence was 5 years or longer. Sentences with no confinement were 5 convictions (14%), compared with 11%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial tried 7 of the 38 cases (18%). Special courts-martial tried the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement.

Guilty Pleas Were About as Common as the Service

Of 37 records with a plea, 29 show a guilty plea and 8 show a not-guilty or mixed plea. Those 8 are contested cases. The contested share was 22%, about the same as the 20% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The records do not include plea terms. They cannot show what limits, if any, a plea agreement placed on a sentence.

More NCOs Than in the Service as a Whole

Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 79% of the accused in drug cases were junior enlisted members. The accused at San Diego were more senior: 25 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 13 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). There were 0 officers or warrant officers.

The records do not show what drugs were involved, how use was detected, or how long any accused had served. Junior enlisted members were still the larger group here. But the share of NCOs was higher than in drug cases across the service.

Many Cases Charged Only the Drug Offense

Article 112a was the only charge in 16 of the 38 cases. Service-wide, 200 of 460 Navy and Marine Corps drug cases charged it alone. When other articles were charged here, the most common were Article 92 (orders violation) in 7 cases, Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 5 each, Article 121 (larceny) in 4, and Article 85 (desertion) in 3.

A sentence covers every charge in the case. A sentence in a drug case that also charged an absence or a theft reflects those charges too.

2019 Had the Most Cases

The trials run from January 2019 to July 2023. The most cases were in 2019, with 19. There were 5 in 2020, 7 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 2 in 2023. Across the period, drug cases were 22% of the 173 courts-martial at San Diego, California. The later years have very few cases, so the figures for the whole period depend mostly on trials from 2019.

What the Records Cannot Show

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence or plea terms. Drug use handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not included. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum. The plea counts here use only records that list a plea, and the records do not show who decided guilt.

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.

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.