Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions for April 2024
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during April 2024 the government reported 1088 new narcotics/drugs prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 0.5 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 2024 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-13.7%). 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 35.3 percent from levels reported in 2019.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions
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 April 2024 was for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking", accounting for 73.3 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (25.4%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for narcotics/drugs prosecutions in April 2024 was DEA accounting for 44 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of narcotics/drugs referrals were: DHS (18% ), FBI (17%), ATF (11%), Local (4%). See Figure 3.
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In April 2024, 296 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 April 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 58.1 percent of all magistrate filings in April.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances" (24.3%), "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (13.5%).
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In April 2024, 792 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during April there were an additional 239 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 April.
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 April 2024.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 612 1 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 221 2 2 2 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 76 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 14 5 5 4 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 11 6 9 13 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 10 7 11 16 More 46 USC 70506 - Penalties 8 8 6 8 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 4 9 34 27 More 18 USC 113 - Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdictions 4 9 - - More 18 USC 553 - Import/exportation of stolen motor vehicles, etc 4 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 100 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 — 31.6 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Providing or possessing contraband in prison " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1791 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 57.1 percent — was " Laundering of monetary instruments " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 43.9 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Importation of controlled substances " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In April 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 371.2 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 Okla, N 3,495 32 1 56 75 More W Virg, N 3,116 24 2 9 24 More Cal, S 2,918 84 3 1 1 More Montana 1,603 15 4 21 41 More Ark, E 1,538 21 5 14 58 More Alaska 1,537 9 6 73 82 More Ala, S 1,251 9 7 73 51 More Mo, W 1,140 31 8 28 20 More Utah 1,136 32 9 12 16 More Okla, W 1,100 20 10 44 56 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa) — with 3495 prosecutions as compared with 371.2 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during April 2024.
The Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling) ranked 2nd. The Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling) was ranked 9 a year ago.
Southern District of California (San Diego) is now ranking 3rd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Utah , now ranked 9th , and Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) at 5th In the same order, these districts ranked 12th and 14th one year ago and 16th and 58th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions compared to one year ago — 71 percent — was Alaska . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 106.6 percent — was Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions — 40.2 percent — was Montana . But over the past five years, Southern District of Alabama (Mobile) showed the largest drop — 70.4 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 narcotics/drugs crime cases of this type during April 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Carreņo-Coll, Silvia Luisa Puer Rico 39 1 6 688 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 18 2 1 1 More Pittman, Mark Timothy Texas, N 15 3 50 - More Harpool, M. Douglas Mo, W 13 4 99 338 More Winmill, B. Lynn Idaho 12 5 122 15 More Kimball, Dale A. Utah 12 5 162 207 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 11 7 50 15 More Kobayashi, Leslie Emi Hawaii 10 8 448 229 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 10 8 18 18 More Reidinger, Martin Karl N Car, W 9 10 79 207 More Waddoups, Clark Utah 9 10 137 171 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 3 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 8 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Silvia Luisa Carreņo-Coll in the District of Puerto Rico ranked 1st with 39 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases. Judge Carreņo-Coll also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 6).
Judge Walter David Counts, III in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd with 18 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases. Judge Counts appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 1) and five years ago (rank 1).
Judge Mark Timothy Pittman in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) ranked 3rd with 15 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Report Generated: June 17, 2024
