Convictions for June 2019
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during June 2019 the government reported 12125 new convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 1.4 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 up (13.6%). 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 10.8 percent from levels reported in 2014.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Convictions
The increase 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 June 2019 was for "Immigration", accounting for 64.7 percent of convictions. Convictions were also filed for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking" (9.1%), "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major" (5.9%), "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (4%), "Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challen" (2.5%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for convictions in June 2019 was DHS accounting for 69 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of convictions were: FBI (8% ), DEA (7%), ATF (6%), Local (2%). See Figure 3.
Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In June 2019, 5825 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 June 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 73.2 percent of all magistrate convictions in June.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (21.9%).
Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In June 2019, 6300 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during June 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 June.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of matters filed in U.S. District Court during June 2019.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,771 1 1 1 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 760 2 2 2 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 667 3 3 4 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 588 4 4 3 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 263 5 5 5 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 130 6 7 6 More 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 85 7 8 7 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 81 8 11 15 More 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 79 9 9 9 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 78 10 13 12 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 42.6 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546 that involves " Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 49.5 percent — was registered for convictions under " Bringing in and harboring certain aliens " (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 0.4 percent — was " Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 23 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In June 2019 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 2321 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 17,241 300 1 4 4 More Cal, S 12,987 381 2 3 5 More Texas, W 10,605 638 3 1 1 More S Dakota 7,436 53 4 28 38 More Texas, S 7,129 579 5 2 2 More Texas, N 6,191 379 6 8 10 More Ga, S 5,975 79 7 39 64 More Arizona 5,798 339 8 5 3 More Mo, E 5,449 133 9 19 25 More Tenn, W 5,276 69 10 35 43 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of New Mexico — with 17241 convictions as compared with 2321 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during June 2019. The District of New Mexico was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 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 South Dakota at 4th In the same order, these districts ranked 19th and 28th one year ago and 25th and 38th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of convictions compared to one year ago — 99.6 percent — was Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 63.8 percent — was Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of convictions — 13.1 percent — was New Mexico . But over the past five years, Arizona showed the largest drop — 20.1 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 June 2019 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago O'Connor, Reed Charles Texas, N 103 1 373 72 More Johnson, William Paul N Mexico 88 2 19 40 More Zainey, Jay C. Texas, W 85 3 3 - More Montalvo, Frank Texas, W 84 4 9 12 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 79 5 15 8 More McBryde, John H. Texas, N 72 6 817 109 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 72 6 13 15 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 71 8 8 11 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 68 9 18 - More Soto, James Alan Arizona 67 10 35 - More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 67 10 7 13 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 11 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of convictions per capit. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Reed Charles O'Connor in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) ranked 1st with 103 convicted in convictions.
Judge William Paul Johnson in the District of New Mexico ranked 2nd with 88 convicted in convictions.
Judge Jay C. Zainey in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 85 convicted in convictions. Judge Zainey also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 3).
Report Generated: August 9, 2019
