Convictions for September 2015
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2015 the government reported 11741 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 21.6 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2015 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-16.6%). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 12.8 percent from levels reported in 2010.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
The largest number of convictions of these matters in September 2015 was for "Immigration", accounting for 52.3 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (12.1%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force " (6.1%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (5.2%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (4%), "Project Safe Childhood" (2.5%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in September 2015 was DHS accounting for 60 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: FBI (11% ), DEA (9%), ATF (5%), Interior (2%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2015, 4743 defendants in cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in September the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge for 66 percent of all magistrate convictions in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (21.2%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2015, 6998 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during September.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2015.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,582 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 996 2 2 2 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 846 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 547 4 4 4 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 246 5 5 5 More 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 129 6 6 8 More 18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 111 7 10 14 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 109 8 9 9 More 18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes 99 9 8 7 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 97 10 12 15 More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846. "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 6.9 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 641 that involves " Public money, property or records ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase — 33.9 % — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 16 percent — was " Bank robbery and incidental crimes " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 2113 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 36 % — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2015 the Justice Department said the government obtained 2675.5 convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 convictions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago N Mexico 23,671 411 1 4 5 More Texas, W 11,992 659 2 1 2 More Cal, S 10,451 292 3 5 4 More S Dakota 7,625 53 4 38 53 More Texas, S 7,116 528 5 2 1 More N Car, W 6,596 168 6 24 46 More Ala, S 6,475 45 7 63 72 More D. C. 6,441 34 8 57 68 More W Virg, N 5,437 42 9 51 71 More Montana 5,370 45 10 66 62 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of New Mexico — with 23671 convictions as compared with 2675.5 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during September 2015. The District of New Mexico was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use five years ago.
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd. The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 for most frequent use five years ago.
Southern District of California (San Diego) is now ranking 3rd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Western District of North Carolina (Asheville), now ranked 6th , and South Dakota at 4th In the same order, these districts ranked 24th and 38th one year ago and 46th and 53rd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 46 percent — was Montana . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 62.4 percent — was Western District of North Carolina (Asheville).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 37.2 percent — was Washington, D.C. (Washington). This was the same district that had the largest increase — 34.4 percent — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during September 2015 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Moses, Alia Texas, W 115 1 4 - More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 109 2 1 1 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 89 3 17 10 More Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 86 4 5 11 More Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 80 5 3 - More Johnson, William Paul N Mexico 72 6 45 82 More Whitney, Frank DeArmon N Car, W 71 7 85 142 More Biery, Samuel Frederick, Jr. Texas, W 65 8 22 32 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 59 9 8 2 More Crone, Marcia A. Texas, E 58 10 27 38 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 9 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions per capita, while the remaining 1 judges were from other districts.
Judge Alia Moses in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 1st with 115 convicted in convictions. Judge Moses also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 4).
Judge Robert C. Brack in the District of New Mexico ranked 2nd with 109 convicted in convictions. Judge Brack appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 1) and five years ago (rank 1).
Judge Philip Ray Martinez in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 89 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: October 27, 2015
