Prosecutions for August 2008
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2008 the government reported 13566 new prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 2.3% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged 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 2008 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up (43 percent). Prosecutions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are up 65.9 percent from levels reported in 2003.
The increase from the levels five years ago in prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. 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 prosecutions of these matters in August 2008 was for "Immigration", accounting for 54.4 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (14.1%), " Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (5.7%), "Other Criminal Prosecutions" (3.3%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (3.1%), "Assimilated Crimes" (2.8%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (2.7%), "Other-Not Specified" (2.2%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for prosecutions in August 2008 was DHS accounting for 61 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of referrals were: DEA (9% ), FBI (8%), ATF (6%), Interior (3%). See Figure 3.
Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2008, 52 percent of cases for these matters took place in U.S. Magistrate Courts which handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In the magistrate courts in August the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving the "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge for 49 percent of all magistrate filings in August.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (18.8%), "21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention + Control-Prohibited acts A" (5.1%).
Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2008.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,313 1 2 3 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention + Control-Prohibited acts A 878 2 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 680 3 3 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 573 4 4 4 More 8 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 334 5 5 5 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 257 6 15 17 More 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 138 7 8 18 More 8 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. 127 8 10 6 More 18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes 114 9 7 8 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 104 10 6 7 More
Table 2: Top charges filed
"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 2 a year ago, while it was the 3 most frequently invoked 5 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 1 a year ago, while it was the 1 most frequently invoked 5 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 the 2 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions—up 143.8 percent—compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546 that involves " Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase—171.1 %—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 20.6 percent—was Importation of controlled substances (Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease— 36.5 %—when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2008 the Justice Department said the government brought 2590 prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of 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 prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Cal, S 16,404 424 1 4 4 More Iowa, N 14,868 163 2 71 55 More N Mexico 13,445 219 3 5 5 More Texas, W 11,369 544 4 2 1 More Texas, S 9,266 618 5 1 2 More Tenn, W 7,326 94 6 32 35 More S Dakota 6,292 41 7 49 63 More D. C. 5,572 27 8 84 40 More Arizona 5,546 285 9 3 3 More N Dakota 5,473 29 10 75 81 More
Table 3: Top 10 districts (per ten million people)
The Southern District of California (San Diego)—with 16404 prosecutions as compared with 2590 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States—was the most active during August 2008. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
The Northern District of Iowa (Cedar Rapids) ranked 2nd.
District of New Mexico is now ranking 3rd. The District of New Mexico was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Western District of Tennessee (Memphis), now ranked 6th , and South Dakota at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 32nd and 49th one year ago and 35th and 63rd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of prosecutions compared to one year ago— 167.7 percent—was Northern District of Iowa (Cedar Rapids). This was the same district that had the largest increase— 66.5 %—when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of prosecutions— 15.6 percent—was Arizona . But over the past five years, Washington, D.C. (Washington) showed the largest drop— 55.4 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 crime cases of this type during August 2008 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 108 1 5 - More Kazen, George P. Texas, S 106 2 2 5 More Reade, Linda R. Iowa, N 90 3 52 27 More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 84 4 1 23 More Cerezo, Carmen Consuelo Puer Rico 77 5 146 138 More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 72 6 9 7 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 72 6 4 6 More Briones, David Texas, W 70 8 8 2 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 68 9 6 1 More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 65 10 7 658 More
Table 4: Top 10 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 filings per capita, while the remaining 1 judges were from other districts.
Judge Micaela Alvarez in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 108 defendants in cases. Judge Alvarezalso appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago(ranked 5).
Judge George P. Kazen in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 106 defendants in cases. Judge Kazen appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 2) and five years ago (rank 5).
Judge Linda R. Reade in the Northern District of Iowa (Cedar Rapids) ranked 3rd with 90 defendants in cases.
