Judge Mary A. McLaughlin
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence

District Court - Pennsylvania East
Program Area: White Collar Crime

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District
Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 27.0 68.8% 124%
Previous Fiscal Year 3.0 -80.0% -75.1%
Past 5 Years 8.0 -33.5% -33.5%

Table 1: Current and 5 Year
Median Prison Sentence Comparison

For all cases disposed of in the current fiscal year (2012) that were credited to Judge Mary A. McLaughlin in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the median prison sentence was 27.0 months, when looking only at cases falling under the broad category of "White Collar Crime". This number is 68.8% higher than the median prison sentence for all the Eastern District of Pennsylvania matters disposed in the same period. At the same time, the judge's median prison sentence was 124.4% higher than the typical 2012 sentence for the nation as a whole. During the current fiscal year, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin has sentenced 12 defendants compared with 16 defendants during the twelve months of the previous fiscal year.

Focusing on a five-year period, the median prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge McLaughlin was 8.0 months. This was 33.5% lower than the 12.0 months typical in Pennsylvania East and 33.5% lower than the 12.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge Mary A. McLaughlin sentenced 41 defendants during the past five years.

(CAUTION: The kinds of cases handled by individual judges influences statistical information about their sentences. It therefore is important to consider the breakdown of cases that each has handled, available below, when making judge-by-judge comparisons.)

Bar chart of start

Figure 1: Five Year Comparison of Median Prison Sentence
in Months

Figure 1 compares Judge McLaughlin's numbers to those for judges in this district and in the United States as a whole for cases of this type over the last five years.

During the last five years there were 26 other judges in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with information on convictions during that period. Median prison sentence numbers passed down for those judges ranged from 0.0 months to 27.0 months, putting Judge McLaughlin's median prison sentence of 8.0 months at the lower end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Pennsylvania during that time was 12.0 months.

Bar chart of label

Figure 2: Detailed Comparison among Judges for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Professional Biography

Born 1946 in Philadelphia, PA

Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Nominated by William J. Clinton on March 13, 2000, to a seat vacated by Marvin Katz; Confirmed by the Senate on May 24, 2000, and received commission on May 31, 2000.

Education:
Gwynedd-Mercy College, B.A., 1968
Bryn Mawr College, M.A., 1969
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1976

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Stanley Brotman, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1976-1977
Private practice, 1977-1980
Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Columbia, 1980-1984
Assistant professor, Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1984-1986
Private practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1986-2000
Adjunct professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1988
Adjunct professor, Rutgers University School of Law, 1989
Chief counsel, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, 1995

Lead Investigative Agencies in Cases Handled

The lead investigative agency that referred cases disposed of by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin for the past five years was the Postal Service. It accounted for 34.1% of all cases.

Other agencies with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin over the past five years were: Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) (22.0%), Treasury - Internal Revenue Service (19.5%), Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation (17.1%).

Agency Judge District US  
Postal Service 34.1% 15.4% 11.6% More
Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) 22.0% 17.1% 17.4%  
Treasury - Internal Revenue Service 19.5% 11.5% 11.2%  
Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation 17.1% 35.6% 32.5%  
Defense 2.4% 0.9% 0.7%  
Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement 2.4% 2.5% 4.0%  
Other - State/Local Authorities 2.4% 0.5% 1.1%  

Table 2: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)

Lead Charges in Cases Handled

The lead charge with the most cases disposed of by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin for the past five years was "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US". It accounted for 36.6% of all cases.

Other lead charges with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin over the past five years were: "18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices" (22.0%), "18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud" (9.8%), "18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (7.3%), "26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements" (7.3%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 36.6% 34.0% 7.6% More
18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 22.0% 6.8% 5.9%  
18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 9.8% 7.6% 13.0%  
18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 7.3% 8.9% 8.5%  
26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 7.3% 3.7% 3.1%  
18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2.4% 0.6% 2.0%  
18 USC 1014 - Fraud - Loan and credit applications etc 2.4% 1.0% 0.9%  
18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 2.4% 1.2% 6.1%  
18 USC 1030 - Fraud and related activity - computers 2.4% 0.5% 0.8%  
18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 2.4% 12.9% 10.2%  

Table 3: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)

Number of Defendants in Judge Mary A. McLaughlin's Cases

Case Def. Sentence (Months) Sentencing Date Program Category  
1 1 0.00 09/06/12 Fraud-Tax Details
2 1 102.00 08/30/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
2 2 94.00 08/30/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
3 1 0.03 07/17/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
4 1 0.01 07/03/12 Fraud-Financial Institution Details
5 1 32.00 06/12/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
6 1 0.01 06/05/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
7 1 24.00 05/31/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
8 1 0.03 05/10/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
2 3 33.00 04/17/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
2 4 30.00 02/14/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details
9 1 46.00 11/04/11 Fraud-Mortgage Details

Table 4: Individual Cases and Defendants Disposed of in Current Fiscal Year