San Diego, California in 2021: 37 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
San Diego, California tried 37 courts-martial in 2021. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 28% of cases, compared with 19% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 41% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › 2021
Short answer: San Diego, California tried 37 courts-martial in 2021. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 28% of cases, compared with 19% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 41% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 64% service-wide. More cases were contested than the year before: 38%, compared with 15% in 2020.
Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common
Of the 37 records, 36 list the charges. Article 120 and assault under Article 128 were the most common charges, with 10 cases each. For Article 120, that 28% share was higher than the 19% elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. For assault, 28% was slightly lower than the 32% service-wide.
Attempts under Article 80 were also more common, at 19% compared with 13%. Larceny under Article 121 was 14%, compared with 9%. Drug cases under Article 112a were less common, 19% compared with 25%. Orders violations under Article 92 were also less common, 14% compared with 21%. The general article, Article 134, was charged in 22% of cases.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 28% | 19% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 28% | 32% |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 22% | 26% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 19% | 25% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 7 | 19% | 13% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 14% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 14% | 9% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 3 | 8% | 7% |
More Cases Were Contested
There were 23 guilty pleas and 14 contested cases. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share of 38% was higher than the 32% for the Navy and Marine Corps in 2021.
The guilty plea rate was different for each charge. Assault cases ended in a guilty plea 60% of the time (6 of 10), the highest among the top charges. Article 120 cases ended in a guilty plea 40% of the time (4 of 10). The records do not show why an accused pleaded guilty or contested.
Verdicts in Contested Cases
Of the 14 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal and 3 in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another. The 36% full-acquittal rate was higher than the 26% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Results by Charge
Every case charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article (8 of 8), with a median confinement of 1.3 years. Assault cases ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 10 (80%), with a median of 9 months.
Article 120 had the lowest conviction rate of the top charges: 7 of 10 (70%). Those convictions had a median confinement of 8 months. One case can end in a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 7 (70%) | 8 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 10 | 8 (80%) | 9 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 8 (8 of 8) | 1.3 years |
Confinement Was Shorter and Less Common
Confinement was part of 75% of the 32 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with a 7-month median across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of confinement sentences were 1.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
25% of convictions here had no confinement, compared with 15% service-wide. Sentences longer than one year were 7 of 32 convictions (22%), compared with 26%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 3%, compared with 5%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 25% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 38% | 33% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 16% | 26% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 19% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 3% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges Were Much Less Common Than the Service
A punitive discharge followed 41% of enlisted convictions: 7 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the rate was 64%.
A punitive discharge is part of the sentence. A member without one can still be separated later through an administrative process.
Court Level and Rank
There were 15 general and 22 special courts-martial, so 41% of cases were general courts-martial, compared with 48% elsewhere. General courts-martial were contested 53% of the time and had a median confinement of 1.7 years. Special courts-martial, which are capped at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, were contested 27% of the time, with a median of 4 months.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 51% of the accused and NCOs were 49%. That mix is more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps, where 69% were junior enlisted.
2020 Compared With 2021
The number of cases went from 27 to 37. The contested share went from 15% to 38%. Full acquittals went from 2 of 4 to 5 of 14. Median confinement was 6 months in both years. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 48% to 41%. In small groups, a few cases can cause changes like these, so they show direction only.
| 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 27 | 37 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 15% | 38% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 4 | 5 of 14 |
| Convictions with confinement | 72% | 75% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 48% | 41% |
| General courts-martial | 44% | 41% |
Compared With Bremerton and Norfolk
Bremerton, Washington tried 28 cases, and 48% were contested. Its median confinement (6 months) and punitive discharge rate (41%) were the same as San Diego's. Norfolk, Virginia tried 46 cases, 29% were contested, and its punitive discharge rate was 65%.
Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or conduct handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego, California | 37 | 38% | 5 of 14 | 6 months | 41% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 28 | 48% | 5 of 13 | 6 months | 41% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 46 | 29% | 6 of 13 | 5 months | 65% |
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 2021 (37 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: 2020 (previous / next)
- What San Diego, California Tried in 2022 (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, 2021
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.