Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions for September 2015
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2015 the government reported 1719 new narcotics/drugs prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 8 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with narcotics/drugs-related offenses 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 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (5.7%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 22.4 percent from levels reported in 2010.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in narcotics/drugs prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions 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.
Within the broad category of narcotics/drugs, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within narcotics/drugs are
Drug Trafficking
Simple Drug Possession
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
Major Project Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
Other Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in September 2015 was for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking", accounting for 76.9 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (19.6%), " Drugs-Simple Drug Possession" (3.5%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for narcotics/drugs prosecutions in September 2015 was DEA accounting for 40 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of narcotics/drugs referrals were: DHS (28% ), FBI (15%), Local (5%), ATF (4%). See Figure 3.
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2015, 665 defendants in narcotics/drugs 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 21 U.S.C Section 841 involving "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A". This was the lead charge for 49.9 percent of all magistrate filings in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (29%), "21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances" (9.9%), "21 USC 844 - Penalty for simple possession" (7.5%).
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2015, 1054 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 444 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 prosecutions of narcotics/drugs matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2015.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 780 1 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 511 2 2 2 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 92 3 3 3 More 46 USC 70503 - Possession control substance on vessel subject to jurisdiction of US 26 4 4 11 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 21 5 5 5 More 21 USC 959 - Possession, manufacture, or distribution for purpo 14 6 15 27 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 11 7 11 10 More 21 USC 963 - Attempt and conspiracy 11 7 6 4 More 18 USC 3583 - Term of supervised release after imprisonment 6 9 25 34 More 21 USC 843 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C 4 10 7 9 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846. "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952. "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 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 prosecutions — up 185.7 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 3583 that involves " Term of supervised release after imprisonment ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase — 566.7 % — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 34.7 percent — was " Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 843 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 52.2 % — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2015 the Justice Department said the government brought 572.7 narcotics/drugs prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 narcotics/drugs prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Wyoming 4,370 21 1 45 27 More Vermont 4,026 21 2 54 83 More Cal, S 3,257 91 3 2 3 More N Dakota 2,738 16 4 52 67 More Texas, W 2,693 148 5 1 1 More N Mexico 2,534 44 6 6 6 More Ark, E 2,127 29 7 21 58 More Arizona 1,832 100 8 4 5 More Texas, N 1,726 99 9 7 30 More D. C. 1,516 8 10 78 85 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of Wyoming — with 4370 prosecutions as compared with 572.7 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during September 2015.
The District of Vermont ranked 2nd.
Southern District of California (San Diego) is now ranking 3rd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock), now ranked 7th , and Wyoming at 1st In the same order, these districts ranked 21st and 45th one year ago and 58th and 27th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions compared to one year ago — 77.3 percent — was Vermont . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 211.2 percent — was Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions — 1.6 percent — was New Mexico . But over the past five years, Wyoming showed the largest drop — 36.3 percent.
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 narcotics/drugs crime cases of this type during September 2015 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Boyle, Jane J. Texas, N 47 1 109 655 More Delgado-Colon, Aida M. Puer Rico 41 2 307 3 More Mazzant, Amos L. Texas, E 23 3 - - More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 21 4 27 24 More Miller, Brian Stacy Ark, E 20 5 224 349 More Yeakel, Earl Leroy, III Texas, W 20 5 99 82 More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 18 7 11 42 More Collins, Raner Christercunean Arizona 16 8 33 24 More Reidinger, Martin Karl N Car, W 16 8 37 374 More Junell, Robert A. Texas, W 16 8 1 1 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 7 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of narcotics/drugs filings per capita, while the remaining 3 judges were from other districts.
Judge Jane J. Boyle in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) ranked 1st with 47 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Aida M. Delgado-Colon in the District of Puerto Rico ranked 2nd with 41 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Amos L. Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) ranked 3rd with 23 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Report Generated: October 27, 2015
