Convictions for December 2023
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during December 2023 the government reported 5022 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 5.7 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 2023 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was up (9.2%). 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 58.2 percent from levels reported in 2018.
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 5.8 percent instead of 58.2 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 2023 was for "Immigration", accounting for 28.5 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (17.9%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (15.8%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (9.2%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (5.3%), "Project Safe Childhood" (4%), "Other Criminal Prosecutions" (2%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in December 2023 was DHS accounting for 37 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: FBI (17% ), DEA (15%), ATF (13%), Local (4%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In December 2023, 287 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 8 U.S.C Section 1326 involving "Reentry of deported alien". This was the lead charge for 34.1 percent of all magistrate convictions in December.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." (30.3%), "18 USC 13 - Laws of States Adopted in Federal jurisdiction" (11.5%), "Other US Code Section" (5.6%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In December 2023, 4735 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 2023.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 872 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 749 2 2 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 705 3 3 3 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 384 4 4 4 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 306 5 5 5 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 101 7 8 8 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 70 8 6 6 More 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 66 9 9 7 More 18 USC 2250 - Fail to register as sex offender after traveling interstate commerce 50 10 11 13 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 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 28.3 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1343 that involves " Fraud by wire, radio, or television ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 178.6 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 24.5 percent — was " Importation of controlled substances " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 41.5 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Reentry of deported alien " (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In December 2023 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 1704.8 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 9,378 270 1 4 5 More S Dakota 7,899 59 2 28 33 More N Mexico 6,984 123 3 5 4 More Arizona 6,881 422 4 3 3 More Mo, E 6,095 148 5 7 13 More Minnesota 5,247 250 6 59 72 More La, E 4,947 68 7 65 76 More N Dakota 4,928 32 8 58 57 More Okla, N 4,697 43 9 37 72 More Texas, S 4,504 383 10 2 2 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Southern District of California (San Diego) — with 9378 convictions as compared with 1704.8 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during December 2023. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use five years ago.
The District of South Dakota ranked 2nd.
District of New Mexico is now ranking 3rd. The District of New Mexico was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were South Dakota , now ranked 2nd , and Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa) at 9th In the same order, these districts ranked 28th and 37th one year ago and 33rd and 72nd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 93.8 percent — was North Dakota . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 175.4 percent — was Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 32.6 percent — was New Mexico . This was the same district that had the largest increase — 63.6 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 2023 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 61 1 12 14 More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 59 2 8 5 More Rodriguez, Fernando, Jr. Texas, S 48 3 13 46 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 48 3 1 2 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 46 5 20 7 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 43 6 5 8 More Delgado-Colon, Aida M. Puer Rico 42 7 95 127 More Saldana, Diana Texas, S 42 7 11 24 More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 39 9 24 13 More Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 39 9 4 12 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 7 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 3 judges were from other districts.
Judge Jose Rolando Olvera, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 61 convicted in convictions.
Judge Kathleen Cardone in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd with 59 convicted in convictions. Judge Cardone appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 8) and five years ago (rank 5).
Judges Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) and Walter David Counts, III in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 48 convicted in convictions. Judge Counts appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 1) and five years ago (rank 2).
Report Generated: February 7, 2024
