A Year of Courts-Martial at San Diego, California: 2019
Of the 51 courts-martial at San Diego, California in 2019, only 14% were contested, compared with 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 40% of cases, compared with 30% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › 2019
Short answer: Of the 51 courts-martial at San Diego, California in 2019, only 14% were contested, compared with 28% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Drug charges under Article 112a were in 40% of cases, compared with 30% service-wide. Of convicted enlisted members, 71% received a punitive discharge, compared with 60% elsewhere.
Most of the Accused Pleaded Guilty
In 2019, 44 of the accused pleaded guilty and 7 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea, so the government had to prove at least part of its case at trial. The contested share of 14% was lower than the 28% across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Guilty pleas were common for the top charges. Drug cases ended in a guilty plea 89% of the time (17 of 19), and assault cases 83% of the time (10 of 12). Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal. The records do not say why any accused pleaded guilty.
Drugs, Larceny, and Obstruction
Of the 51 records, 48 list the charges. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) was charged in 19 of them. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 17% of cases, compared with 11% Navy and Marine Corps-wide. Obstructing justice under Article 131b was charged in 12%, compared with 7%.
Assault under Article 128 was charged in 25% of cases, lower than the 34% elsewhere. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in only 8%, compared with 14%. Attempts under Article 80 were charged in 15% and conspiracy under Article 81 in 10%. A case charging several articles appears in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 19 | 40% | 30% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 25% | 34% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 8 | 17% | 11% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 17% | 17% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 7 | 15% | 10% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 6 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 5 | 10% | 7% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 8% | 14% |
Conviction Rates for the Top Articles
Every larceny case and every Article 92 orders case ended in a conviction on that article, 8 of 8 each. Larceny convictions had a median confinement of 11 months, and orders convictions 5 months.
Drug cases ended in a conviction on Article 112a in 17 of 19 (89%), and assault cases in 10 of 12 (83%). Both had a median of 6 months. One case can include convictions and acquittals on different articles, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 19 | 17 (89%) | 6 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 10 (83%) | 6 months |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 11 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 5 months |
Length of Confinement
Confinement was part of 87% of the 47 convictions. The median confinement was 7 months, slightly longer than the 6-month median elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of confinement sentences were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Confinement of 6 months to 1 year was 34% of convictions, compared with 23% service-wide. Longer sentences were less common: 9 of 47 convictions (19%) were longer than one year, compared with 24%. No conviction carried 5 years or more. Elsewhere, 5% of convictions did.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 13% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 16 | 34% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 16 | 34% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9 | 19% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges Were More Common
A punitive discharge followed 71% of enlisted convictions: 26 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. That rate was higher than the 60% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed.
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Officers receive a dismissal instead. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Court Level and Rank in 2019
General courts-martial tried 17 of the 51 cases (33%), compared with 43% in the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket. At general courts-martial, 93% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 2 years. The 34 special courts-martial, which are capped at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, included confinement in 84% of convictions, with a median of 5 months.
Junior enlisted members were 53% of the accused, compared with 57% service-wide. NCOs were 43% and officers were 4%.
What Changed From 2018
The number of cases went from 36 to 51. The contested share went from 26% to 14%. The share of general courts-martial went from 42% to 33%. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 63% to 71%. Median confinement went from 8 months to 7 months.
In small groups, a few cases can change these figures. The changes show direction, not a precise trend.
| 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 36 | 51 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 26% | 14% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 9 | 4 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 63% | 71% |
| General courts-martial | 42% | 33% |
Compared With Norfolk and Bremerton
Norfolk, Virginia also tried 51 cases, but 43% were contested. Of 21 contested cases that reached a verdict there, 9 ended in a full acquittal, and its median confinement was 6 months. Bremerton, Washington tried 47 cases, and 11% were contested. Its median confinement was 3 months and its enlisted punitive discharge rate was 38%.
Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, and plea counts here use only the records that list them.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego, California | 51 | 14% | 4 of 7 | 7 months | 71% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 51 | 43% | 9 of 21 | 6 months | 55% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 47 | 11% | 4 of 5 | 3 months | 38% |
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 2019 (51 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)
- San Diego, California in 2018: 36 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at San Diego, California: 2020 (previous / next)
- Inside 173 Courts-Martial at San Diego, California, 2019–2023 (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.