Convictions for July 2017
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during July 2017 the government reported 8254 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 12.2 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 2017 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-13%). 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 33.3 percent from levels reported in 2012.
The dip in these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall decrease in convictions is 17.7 percent instead of 33.3 percent. The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases by the Justice Department.
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 July 2017 was for "Immigration", accounting for 51.5 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (12.4%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (7%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (5.5%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (3.6%), "Project Safe Childhood" (2.6%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in July 2017 was DHS accounting for 58 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: FBI (11% ), DEA (9%), ATF (7%), Interior (2%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In July 2017, 3096 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 July 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 69.5 percent of all magistrate convictions in July.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (20.1%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In July 2017, 5158 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during July 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 July.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during July 2017.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,191 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 705 2 2 2 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 552 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 514 4 4 4 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 193 5 5 5 More 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 97 6 6 7 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 84 7 8 12 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 81 8 7 6 More 18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes 71 9 11 11 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 69 10 12 17 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 29.5 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 that involves " Bringing in and harboring certain aliens ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 32.7 percent — was registered for convictions under " Hobbs Act " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 18.2 percent — was " Material involving sexual exploitation of minors " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 2252 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 35 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Importation of controlled substances " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In July 2017 the Justice Department said the government obtained 1925.7 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 17,495 304 1 3 5 More Texas, W 9,526 554 2 1 1 More Cal, S 7,966 231 3 6 4 More S Dakota 5,687 40 4 40 45 More Texas, S 5,064 400 5 2 3 More Arizona 4,728 269 6 4 2 More Iowa, S 4,411 66 7 53 53 More Ill, S 3,783 40 8 52 51 More Utah 3,565 89 9 24 35 More Ala, S 3,559 25 10 66 39 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of New Mexico — with 17495 convictions as compared with 1925.7 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during July 2017. The District of New Mexico was ranked 3 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 1 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 6 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Utah , now ranked 9th , and South Dakota at 4th In the same order, these districts ranked 24th and 40th one year ago and 35th and 45th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 65.9 percent — was Utah . This was the same district that had the largest increase — 69.7 percent — when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 35.7 percent — was New Mexico . But over the past five years, Southern District of Alabama (Mobile) showed the largest drop — 43 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 resulting in convictions of this type during July 2017 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Montalvo, Frank Texas, W 101 1 6 13 More Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 67 2 3 - More Crane, Randy Texas, S 63 3 13 5 More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 62 4 16 4 More Parker, James Aubrey N Mexico 56 5 240 39 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 51 6 7 10 More Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 51 6 2 1 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 49 8 5 - More Guaderrama, David C. Texas, W 49 8 14 300 More Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 45 10 4 19 More Briones, David Texas, W 45 10 11 6 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 11 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions per capit. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Frank Montalvo in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 1st with 101 convicted in convictions. Judge Montalvo also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 6).
Judge Kenneth John Gonzales in the District of New Mexico ranked 2nd with 67 convicted in convictions. Judge Gonzales also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 3).
Judge Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 63 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: August 31, 2017
