Convictions for August 2019
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2019 the government reported 13159 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 3.3 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 2019 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-4.8%). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 2.8 percent from levels reported in 2014.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Convictions
The leveling out 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 August 2019 was for "Immigration", accounting for 62.7 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (9.5%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (7%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (4.2%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (2.6%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in August 2019 was DHS accounting for 67 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: FBI (8% ), DEA (7%), ATF (7%), Local (2%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2019, 5702 defendants were convicted 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 August 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 77.9 percent of all magistrate convictions in August.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (17.6%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2019, 7457 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August 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 August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2019.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 2,284 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 963 2 2 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 854 3 3 4 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 591 4 4 3 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 300 5 5 5 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 134 6 7 6 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 98 7 9 11 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 98 7 10 15 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 82 9 17 20 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 "Firearms; Unlawful acts" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 922. "Firearms; Unlawful acts" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 125.3 percent — compared to one year ago was Title U.S.C Section that involves "Other US Code Section ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase — 272.4 % — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 2.2 percent — was " Fraud by wire, radio, or television " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 10.6 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2019 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 2747.3 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 25,114 437 1 5 3 More Cal, S 13,634 400 2 3 5 More Texas, W 12,400 746 3 1 1 More Texas, S 11,057 898 4 2 2 More N. Y., S 10,375 458 5 9 11 More S Dakota 7,997 57 6 34 34 More Ark, E 6,506 89 7 33 61 More Ala, S 6,392 45 8 65 63 More Mo, E 5,982 146 9 14 22 More W Virg, N 5,442 42 10 58 54 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of New Mexico — with 25114 convictions as compared with 2747.3 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during August 2019. The District of New Mexico was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 for most frequent use five years ago.
The Southern District of California (San Diego) ranked 2nd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use five years ago.
Western District of Texas (San Antonio) is now ranking 3rd. 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.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis), now ranked 9th , and Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 14th and 33rd one year ago and 22nd and 61st five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 58.1 percent — was Southern District of New York (Manhattan). This was the same district that had the largest increase — 65.3 percent — when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 16.3 percent — was Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling). But over the past five years, New Mexico showed the largest drop — 26.3 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 August 2019 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 149 1 3 3 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 137 2 7 16 More Saldana, Diana Texas, S 112 3 24 23 More Garcia Marmolejo, Marina Texas, S 111 4 26 19 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 110 5 11 14 More Johnson, William Paul N Mexico 97 6 21 35 More Zainey, Jay C. Texas, W 97 6 1 - More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 92 8 6 7 More Skavdahl, Scott Wesley N Mexico 87 9 49 199 More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 84 10 15 9 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 10 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions per capit.
Judge Kenneth John Gonzales in the District of New Mexico ranked 1st with 149 convicted in convictions. Judge Gonzales appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 3) and five years ago (rank 3).
Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 137 convicted in convictions. Judge Ramos also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 7).
Judge Diana Saldana in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 112 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: September 19, 2019
