What San Diego, California Tried in 2015
San Diego, California tried 59 courts-martial in 2015, and drug and AWOL charges were more common than service-wide. Article 112a was charged in 28% of cases, compared with 16% Navy and Marine Corps-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › 2015
Short answer: San Diego, California tried 59 courts-martial in 2015, and drug and AWOL charges were more common than service-wide. Article 112a was charged in 28% of cases, compared with 16% Navy and Marine Corps-wide. Full acquittals in contested cases were less common here: 36% (5 of 14), compared with 50% service-wide. The median confinement was 4 months.
Fewer Full Acquittals Than Elsewhere
Only 14 cases in 2015 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Of those that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. 1 ended in a partial acquittal, where the accused was acquitted of some charges and convicted of others.
San Diego's full-acquittal rate of 36% was lower than the 50% for the Navy and Marine Corps overall. The number of cases is small, and a few verdicts either way would change the comparison.
Which Articles Were Charged Most?
Charges are listed in 57 of the 59 records. Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 17 cases (30%). That is lower than the 38% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2015. Drug cases under Article 112a were next, with 16 (28%).
Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 12 cases, or 21%, compared with 15% elsewhere. AWOL under Article 86 was charged in 16%, compared with 7%. Rape and sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 18% of cases here, compared with 27% service-wide. Orders violations under Article 92 were charged in 7%, compared with 15%. One case can include several articles.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 17 | 30% | 38% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 16 | 28% | 16% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 12 | 21% | 15% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 18% | 27% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 9 | 16% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 5 | 9% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 7% | 15% |
Guilty Pleas by Charge
Of the 59 cases, 45 were guilty pleas. The contested share of 24% was slightly lower than the 29% for the whole Navy and Marine Corps.
The guilty plea rate was very different by article. Every larceny case ended in a guilty plea: 100% (12 of 12). None of the 10 Article 120 cases did. The records do not show why an accused pleaded guilty or went to trial.
Convictions on Each Top Charge
Every drug case and every larceny case ended in a conviction on that article: 16 of 16 for Article 112a and 12 of 12 for Article 121. Each had a median confinement of 5 months. Assault cases ended in a conviction on that article in 12 of 17 cases (71%), with a median of 3 months.
Article 120 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 5 of 10 (50%). Those convictions had a median confinement of 2 years. These rows overlap, since a case can end in a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 17 | 12 (71%) | 3 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 16 | 16 (100%) | 5 months |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 12 | 12 (100%) | 5 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 5 (50%) | 2 years |
Most Confinement Was Measured in Months
There were 54 convictions, and 49 included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months for the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket. A quarter of confinement sentences were 8 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Most convictions here (56%) carried under 6 months, compared with 44% service-wide. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 6 of 54 (11%), compared with 18%. Only 2% were 5 years or more, compared with 7%. 9% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 15%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 9% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 30 | 56% | 44% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 13 | 24% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 9% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 2% | 7% |
Most Punitive Discharges Were Bad-Conduct Discharges
Of 52 convicted enlisted members, 29 received a punitive discharge: 26 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. That 56% rate compares with 58% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still face an administrative separation afterward.
Court Level, Rank, and Contested Shares
General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, were 24% of cases (14 of 59). The other 45 were special courts-martial, which are limited to one year of confinement. The contested share was 64% at general courts-martial and 11% at special courts-martial. The median confinement was 2 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.
By rank, 34 of the accused were junior enlisted, 23 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. That mix is more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps overall.
2015 Compared With 2014
The number of cases went from 56 to 59. The contested share went from 20% to 24%. Full acquittals went from 4 of 11 to 5 of 14. Median confinement went from 3 months to 4 months. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 49% to 56%. General courts-martial went from 30% to 24% of cases.
In groups this small, these changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2014 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 56 | 59 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 20% | 24% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 11 | 5 of 14 |
| Convictions with confinement | 92% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 49% | 56% |
| General courts-martial | 30% | 24% |
Norfolk and Bremerton in the Same Year
Norfolk, Virginia tried 57 cases and 32% were contested. Of 18 contested cases that reached a verdict there, 11 ended in a full acquittal, and the median confinement was 5 months. Bremerton, Washington tried 45 cases, 12% were contested, and 2 of 5 ended in a full acquittal. Its median was 4 months. Enlisted punitive discharge rates were 50% at Norfolk and 54% at Bremerton.
All of these trials were under the rules before 2019, since the Military Justice Act of 2016 did not take effect until January 1, 2019. The records do not show offense dates, evidence, plea terms, or anything handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Older Navy and Marine Corps records often omit the plea and forum.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego, California | 59 | 24% | 5 of 14 | 4 months | 56% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 57 | 32% | 11 of 18 | 5 months | 50% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 45 | 12% | 2 of 5 | 4 months | 54% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at San Diego, California with a trial date in 2015 (59 cases).
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
- San Diego, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at San Diego, California: 2014 (previous / next)
- What San Diego, California Tried in 2016 (previous / next)
- San Diego, California Courts-Martial, 2013–2018: What 285 Cases Show (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- 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.