Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions for September 2024
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2024 the government reported 970 new narcotics/drugs prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 13 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 (-6.5%). 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 36.1 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 September 2024 was for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking", accounting for 79.1 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (19.8%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for narcotics/drugs prosecutions in September 2024 was DEA accounting for 40 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of narcotics/drugs referrals were: DHS (21% ), FBI (20%), ATF (9%), Local (3%). See Figure 3.
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2024, 258 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 September 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 51.6 percent of all magistrate filings in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances" (28.7%), "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (9.3%).
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2024, 712 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 268 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 prosecutions of narcotics/drugs matters filed in U.S. District Court during September 2024.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 543 1 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 277 2 2 2 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 59 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 24 4 5 5 More 18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 14 6 13 11 More 21 USC 963 - Attempt and conspiracy 9 7 8 7 More 18 USC 1791 - Providing or possessing contraband in prison 6 8 12 15 More 21 USC 843 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C 4 9 10 8 More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 3 10 25 - More 46 USC 70506 - Penalties 3 10 7 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 108 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1956 that involves " Laundering of monetary instruments ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 80 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 45.9 percent — was " Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 843 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 57.8 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 September 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 352.8 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 Cal, S 2,258 65 1 1 1 More Montana 2,031 19 2 20 58 More W Virg, N 1,558 12 3 28 41 More Vermont 1,484 8 4 79 71 More Okla, W 1,430 26 5 22 59 More Fla, S 1,135 71 6 11 8 More Ken, E 1,130 21 7 23 17 More Iowa, N 991 11 8 61 55 More Iowa, S 899 14 9 30 29 More Texas, N 863 55 10 3 4 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Southern District of California (San Diego) — with 2258 prosecutions as compared with 352.8 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during September 2024. 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.
The District of Montana ranked 2nd.
Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling) is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Southern District of Florida (Miami), now ranked 6th , and Montana at 2nd In the same order, these districts ranked 11th and 20th one year ago and 8th 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 — 45.8 percent — was Vermont . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 98.2 percent — was Western District of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions — 26.5 percent — was Southern District of California (San Diego). This was the same district that had the largest increase — 50.2 percent — when compared with five years ago.
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 September 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Ruiz, Rodolfo Armando, II Fla, S 27 1 153 - More Velez-Rive, Camille L. Puer Rico 26 2 51 - More Crane, Randy Texas, S 15 3 25 16 More Ketchmark, Roseann Ambrosia Mo, W 12 4 153 237 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 12 4 21 1 More Bloom, Beth Francine Fla, S 11 6 58 138 More Ballou, Robert S. Virg, W 11 6 334 - More Rosenthal, Lee Hyman Texas, S 10 8 284 378 More Bencivengo, Cathy Ann Cal, S 8 9 21 4 More Lee, Susan K. Tenn, E 8 9 43 - More Kacsmaryk, Matthew Joseph Texas, N 8 9 37 - More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 8 9 37 12 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 4 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 12 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Rodolfo Armando Ruiz, II in the Southern District of Florida (Miami) ranked 1st with 27 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Camille L. Velez-Rive in the District of Puerto Rico ranked 2nd with 26 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 15 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Report Generated: November 1, 2024
