Convictions for December 2020
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during December 2020 the government reported 6053 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 84.6 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 2020 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-59.2%). 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 51.4 percent from levels reported in 2015.
The dip in these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall decrease in convictions is 19 percent instead of 51.4 percent. The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases by the Justice Department.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Convictions
The decrease 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 December 2020 was for "Immigration", accounting for 30.6 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (20%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (14.9%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (9.3%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (3.8%), "Project Safe Childhood" (3.1%), "Violence-Other" (2.3%), "Other Criminal Prosecutions" (2.1%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in December 2020 was DHS accounting for 40 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: ATF (14% ), DEA (14%), FBI (14%), Local (4%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In December 2020, 117 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 December the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 7 involving "Special Maritime/Territorial Jurisdiction of US". This was the lead charge for 20.5 percent of all magistrate convictions in December.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "Other US Code Section" (13.7%), "18 USC 19 - Petty Offense Defined" (9.4%), "08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." (6.8%), "08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" (6%), "21 USC 844 - Penalty for simple possession" (5.1%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In December 2020, 5936 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during December 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 December.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during December 2020.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,397 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 914 2 2 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 783 3 3 4 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 546 4 4 3 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 341 5 5 5 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 158 6 6 7 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 95 7 14 19 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 87 8 7 12 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 70 10 8 9 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 5 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 that involves " Importation of controlled substances ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 292 percent — was registered for convictions under "Other US Code Section " (Title U.S.C Section ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 53 percent — was " Reentry of deported alien " (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 36.4 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In December 2020 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 2170.1 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 Cal, S 12,956 380 1 5 5 More Texas, S 11,143 922 2 2 1 More Ark, W 10,083 116 3 75 80 More Tenn, E 9,609 213 4 28 21 More N Mexico 8,298 145 5 4 3 More Tenn, W 8,028 105 6 38 41 More Montana 7,972 71 7 53 50 More S Dakota 7,858 57 8 25 38 More Iowa, S 6,675 102 9 43 59 More Arizona 6,149 373 10 3 4 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Southern District of California (San Diego) — with 12956 convictions as compared with 2170.1 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during December 2020. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use five years ago.
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd. The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
Western District of Arkansas (Fort Smith) is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were South Dakota , now ranked 8th , and Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville) at 4th In the same order, these districts ranked 25th and 28th one year ago and 38th and 21st five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 67.3 percent — was Western District of Arkansas (Fort Smith). This was the same district that had the largest increase — 105.4 percent — when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 71.9 percent — was New Mexico . This was the same district that had the largest increase — 68.5 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 crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during December 2020 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Morales, David Steven Texas, S 155 1 18 - More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 135 2 14 10 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 129 3 11 8 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 115 4 3 7 More Gelpi, Gustavo Antonio, Jr. Puer Rico 98 5 41 54 More Soto, James Alan Arizona 74 6 15 22 More McDonough, Travis Randall Tenn, E 71 7 106 - More Brooks, Timothy Lloyd Ark, W 70 8 122 206 More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 69 9 10 5 More Rodriguez, Fernando, Jr. Texas, S 67 10 21 - More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 9 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions per capita, while the remaining 1 judges were from other districts.
Judge David Steven Morales in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 155 convicted in convictions.
Judge Micaela Alvarez in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 135 convicted in convictions.
Judge Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 129 convicted in convictions.
Report Generated: January 20, 2021
