Judge James Block Zagel
September 2012: Average Prison Sentence

District Court - Illinois North
Program Area: Other

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District
Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 84.7 - -
Previous Fiscal Year 80.0 - -
Past 5 Years 74.3 -8.2% 3.6%
Percent not reported where cases too few to provide
meaningful comparison.

Table 1: Current and 5 Year
Average Prison Sentence Comparison

For all cases disposed of in the current fiscal year (2012) that were credited to Judge James Block Zagel in the Northern District of Illinois, the average prison sentence was 84.7 months, when looking only at cases falling under the broad category of "Other". During the current fiscal year, Judge James Block Zagel has sentenced 9 defendants compared with 3 defendants during the twelve months of the previous fiscal year.

Over the last five years, the average prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge Zagel was 74.3 months. This was 8.2% lower than the 80.9 months typical in Illinois North and 3.6% higher than the 71.6 months average prison sentence for the nation. Judge James Block Zagel sentenced 25 defendants during the past five years.

(CAUTION: The kinds of cases handled by individual judges influences statistical information about their sentences. It therefore is important to consider the breakdown of cases that each has handled, available below, when making judge-by-judge comparisons.)

Bar chart of start

Figure 1: Five Year Comparison of Average Prison Sentence
in Months

Figure 1 compares Judge Zagel's numbers to those for judges in this district and in the United States as a whole for cases of this type over the last five years.

During the last five years there were 26 other judges in the Northern District of Illinois with information on convictions during that period. Average prison sentence numbers passed down for those judges ranged from 41.0 months to 137.7 months, putting Judge Zagel's average prison sentence of 74.3 months at the lower end of the range. The average prison sentence for the whole Northern District of Illinois during that time was 80.9 months.

Bar chart of label

Figure 2: Detailed Comparison among Judges for the Northern District of Illinois

Professional Biography

Born 1941 in Chicago, IL

Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Nominated by Ronald Reagan on February 2, 1987, to a seat vacated by Frank J. McGarr; Confirmed by the Senate on April 21, 1987, and received commission on April 22, 1987.

Education:
University of Chicago, B.A., 1962
University of Chicago, M.A., 1962
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1965

Professional Career:
Assistant state's attorney, Cook County, Illinois, 1965-1969
Assistant attorney general, State of Illinois, 1969-1977
Deputy chief, Criminal Justice Division, 1969-1970
Chief, Criminal Justice Division, 1970-1977
Chief prosecuting attorney, Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, 1973-1975
Chief assistant attorney general, State of Arizona, 1975
Executive director, Illinois Law Enforcement Commision, 1977-1979
Director, Department of Revenue, State of Illinois, 1979-1980
Chairman, Governor's Advisory Counsel on Criminal Justice Legislation, 1980-1987
Director of state police, State of Illinois, 1980-1987

Lead Investigative Agencies in Cases Handled

The lead investigative agency that referred cases disposed of by Judge James Block Zagel for the past five years was the Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation. It accounted for 72.0% of all cases.

Other agencies with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge James Block Zagel over the past five years were: Postal Service (20.0%), Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) (4.0%), Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration (4.0%).

Agency Judge District US  
Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation 72.0% 72.1% 44.1% More
Postal Service 20.0% 7.4% 9.3%  
Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) 4.0% 2.2% 2.5%  
Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration 4.0% 1.1% 1.1%  

Table 2: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)

Lead Charges in Cases Handled

The lead charge with the most cases disposed of by Judge James Block Zagel for the past five years was "18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes". It accounted for 44.0% of all cases.

Other lead charges with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge James Block Zagel over the past five years were: "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (16.0%), "18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee" (12.0%), "18 USC 875 - Interstate Communications" (4.0%), "18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties" (4.0%), "18 USC 1203 - Kidnapping - Hostage taking" (4.0%), "18 USC 2115 - Robbery - Post office" (4.0%), "18 USC 2252A - Activity relating material constituting/containing chil" (4.0%), "18 USC 2423 - Transportation of minors for sexual activity" (4.0%), "18 USC 3146 - Penalty for failure to appear" (4.0%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes 44.0% 48.6% 14.5% More
18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 16.0% 4.6% 2.3%  
18 USC 1709 - Theft of mail matter by officer or employee 12.0% 1.8% 1.4%  
18 USC 875 - Interstate Communications 4.0% 0.4% 0.4%  
18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 4.0% 0.1% 0.2%  
18 USC 1203 - Kidnapping - Hostage taking 4.0% 0.3% 0.1%  
18 USC 2115 - Robbery - Post office 4.0% 0.1% 0.2%  
18 USC 2252A - Activity relating material constituting/containing chil 4.0% 0.9% 3.9%  
18 USC 2423 - Transportation of minors for sexual activity 4.0% 0.7% 0.9%  
18 USC 3146 - Penalty for failure to appear 4.0% 0.3% 1.0%  

Table 3: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)

Number of Defendants in Judge James Block Zagel's Cases

Case Def. Sentence (Months) Sentencing Date Program Category  
1 1 78.00 09/06/12 Bank Robbery Details
2 1 30.00 06/26/12 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details
3 1 168.00 05/25/12 Bank Robbery Details
4 2 24.00 04/03/12 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details
4 3 0.33 03/28/12 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details
5 1 144.00 02/29/12 Bank Robbery Details
6 1 90.00 12/08/11 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details
4 1 168.00 12/07/11 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details
7 1 60.00 10/26/11 Other Criminal Prosecutions Details

Table 4: Individual Cases and Defendants Disposed of in Current Fiscal Year