Government Regulatory Convictions for September 2012
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2012 the government reported 303 new government regulatory convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 78.2% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for government regulatory-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 2012 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-4.9 percent). 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 14.2 percent from levels reported in 2007.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in government regulatory convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of government regulatory 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.
Within the broad category of government regulatory, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within government regulatory are
Counterfeiting and Forgery
Customs Violations - Duty
Customs Violations - Currency
Energy Pricing and Related Fraud
Health and Safety Violations - Employees
Health and Safety Violations - General Public
Copyright Violations
Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes
Energy Violations - Nuclear Waste Issues
Money Laundering/Structuring (Narcotics)
Money Laundering/Structuring (Other)
Export Enforcement General
Other Government Regulatory Offenses
The largest number of convictions of these matters in September 2012 was for "Other-Regulatory Offenses", accounting for 67.3 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Counterfeiting and Forgery" (21.1%), " Money Laundering-Other" (2.6%), "Contraband Cigarettes-Trafficking in" (2.3%), "Export Enforcement General" (2.3%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for government regulatory convictions in September 2012 was Interior accounting for 60 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of government regulatory convictions were: SecServ (16% ), DHS (10%), FBI (3%), ATF (2%). See Figure 3.
Government Regulatory Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2012, 183 defendants in government regulatory 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 36 U.S.C Section . involving the "Speeding". This was the lead charge for 22.4 percent of all magistrate convictions in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "36 CFR 2.35b2 - Possession of a controlled substance" (15.3%), "36 CFR 2.35c - Presence in park area under influence of alcohol/control substance" (7.7%), " 36 CFR 2.35a2ii - Possession of alcohol by a minor" (7.1%).
Government Regulatory Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2012, 120 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 government regulatory matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2012.
Lead Charge Count Rank 18 USC 471 - Obligations or securities of United States 16 1 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 15 2 More 18 USC 472 - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities 13 3 More 18 USC 2342 - Trafficking in contraband cigarettes Unlawful acts 6 4 More 18 USC 473 - Dealing in counterfeit obligations or securities 5 5 More 18 USC 513 - Securities of the States and private entities 5 5 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 5 5 More 21 USC 331 - Fed Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act - Prohibited acts 5 5 More 31 USC 5332 - Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States 5 5 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 4 10 More 18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 4 10 More Table 2: Top charges for convictions
"Obligations or securities of United States" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 471) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 371.
Ranked 3rd was "Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 472.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2012 the Justice Department said the government obtained 46.9 government regulatory convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of government regulatory convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank Penn, E 11 1 More Ken, E 7 2 More Wyoming 7 2 More Fla, S 6 4 More Texas, W 6 4 More Cal, S 5 6 More Ga, M 5 6 More Virg, W 5 6 More Miss, N 4 9 More Cal, N 3 10 More N Car, E 3 10 More S Car 3 10 More Texas, N 3 10 More Texas, S 3 10 More Wisc, E 3 10 More Table 3: Top 10 districts
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)—with 11 convictions—was the most active during September 2012.
The Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) and District of Wyoming ranked 2nd.
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 government regulatory crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during September 2012 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Hood, Joseph Martin Ken, E 5 1 More Kiser, Jackson L. Virg, W 5 1 More Aycock, Sharion Miss, N 4 3 More Gardner, James Knoll Penn, E 4 3 More Whelan, Thomas J. Cal, S 3 5 More Marra, Kenneth A. Fla, S 3 5 More Lawson, Hugh Ga, M 3 5 More Rodriguez, Xavier Texas, W 3 5 More Otero, S. James Cal, C 2 9 More Fogel, Jeremy D. Cal, N 2 9 More McCuskey, Michael Patrick Ill, C 2 9 More Blake, Catherine C. Maryland 2 9 More Hood, Denise Page Mich, E 2 9 More Boyle, Terrence William N Car, E 2 9 More Tucker, Petrese B. Penn, E 2 9 More Stengel, Lawrence F. Penn, E 2 9 More Adelman, Lynn S. Wisc, E 2 9 More Crabb, Barbara Brandriff Wisc, W 2 9 More Bommer, Timothy J. Wyoming 2 9 More Lubing, James K. Wyoming 2 9 More Table 4: Top 10 judges
A total of 15 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of government regulatory convictions , while the remaining 5 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 20 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judges Joseph Martin Hood in the Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) and Jackson L. Kiser in the Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) ranked 1st with 5 convicted in government regulatory convictions.
Judges Sharion Aycock in the Northern District of Mississippi (Oxford) and James Knoll Gardner in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) ranked 3rd with 4 convicted in government regulatory convictions.
Report Generated: December 11, 2012
