A Year of Courts-Martial at San Diego, California: 2020
San Diego, California tried 27 courts-martial in 2020. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 24% of cases, compared with 8% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 15% of cases were contested, compared with 30% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › 2020
Short answer: San Diego, California tried 27 courts-martial in 2020. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 24% of cases, compared with 8% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 15% of cases were contested, compared with 30% service-wide. Of convicted enlisted members, 48% received a punitive discharge, compared with 62% elsewhere.
Larceny Was Much More Common Than Service-Wide
Charge lists exist for 25 of the 27 cases. Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 8 cases, or 32%, compared with 36% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2020. Larceny under Article 121 was next, in 6 cases. That 24% share is much higher than the 8% service-wide.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 20% of cases, compared with 16%. Drug cases under Article 112a were also 20% of cases here, lower than the 30% service-wide. Attempts under Article 80 and AWOL under Article 86 were more common than service-wide, at 16% and 12%. False official statements under Article 107 were 12%, the same as the service. Each article counts once per case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 8 | 32% | 36% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 6 | 24% | 8% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 20% | 30% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 16% | 11% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 16% | 18% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 12% | 7% |
Few Cases Were Contested
Of the 27 accused, 23 pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 15% compares with 30% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal. A rate based on so few cases says little by itself.
Median Confinement Was the Same as the Service
Confinement was part of 72% of the 25 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median across the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket. A quarter of confinement sentences were 1 year or longer.
All of these are adjudged sentences, meaning the sentence announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not a single offense.
More Convictions With No Confinement
Convictions with no confinement were 28% here, compared with 15% service-wide. Confinement under 6 months was 32%, compared with 36%. Confinement of 6 months to 1 year was 24%, compared with 23%.
Long sentences were less common. Only 4 of 25 convictions (16%) were longer than one year, compared with 26% across the service. Sentences of 5 years or more were 4%, compared with 6%. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 28% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 8 | 32% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 24% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 12% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 4% | 6% |
Punitive Discharges in 2020
Of 25 convicted enlisted members, 12 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (48%). Of those, 3 were dishonorable discharges. The rest of the Navy and Marine Corps had a rate of 62%.
A bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge is a punitive discharge, imposed as part of the sentence. A member without one could still face an administrative separation later.
General and Special Courts-Martial
The 27 cases were 12 general and 15 special courts-martial. The general share of 44% was slightly higher than the 41% service-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
General courts-martial were contested 25% of the time and had a median confinement of 1.5 years. Special courts-martial were contested 7% of the time, with a median of 4 months. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 59% of the accused and NCOs were 41%. Service-wide, junior enlisted members were 64%.
Fewer Cases Than 2019
San Diego had 51 cases in 2019 and 27 in 2020. The contested share was about the same: 14% and 15%. Median confinement went from 7 months to 6 months. The share of convictions with confinement went from 87% to 72%. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 71% to 48%. General courts-martial went from 33% to 44% of cases.
In groups this small, a few cases can cause these changes. They show direction, not a fixed trend.
| 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 51 | 27 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 14% | 15% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 7 | 2 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 87% | 72% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 48% |
| General courts-martial | 33% | 44% |
Similar Installations and What the Records Cannot Show
Norfolk, Virginia tried 29 cases in 2020, and 31% were contested. Its median confinement was 8 months and its enlisted punitive discharge rate was 72%. Okinawa, Japan tried 23 cases, with a median confinement of 4 months and a 62% punitive discharge rate.
Trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any conduct handled outside a court-martial. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so plea counts use only the records that list them.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego, California | 27 | 15% | 2 of 4 | 6 months | 48% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 29 | 31% | 4 of 9 | 8 months | 72% |
| Okinawa, Japan | 23 | — | — | 4 months | 62% |
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 2020 (27 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: 2019 (previous / next)
- San Diego, California in 2021: 37 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (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)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at San Diego, California, 2020
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.