Judge Mary A. McLaughlin
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence
District Court - Pennsylvania East
Referring Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation
District Court - Pennsylvania East
Referring Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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 30.0 months, when looking only at cases referred by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This number is 58.3% lower 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 31.0% lower than the typical 2012 sentence for the nation as a whole. During the current fiscal year, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin has sentenced 13 defendants compared with 26 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 36.0 months. This was 33.3% lower than the 54.0 months typical in Pennsylvania East and 14.3% lower than the 42.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge Mary A. McLaughlin sentenced 59 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.)
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 9.0 months to 96.0 months, putting Judge McLaughlin's median prison sentence of 36.0 months at the lower end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Pennsylvania during that time was 54.0 months.
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
Program Areas of Cases Handled
Cases disposed of by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin for the past five years fell into a number of broad categories. The lead category for these cases was Weapons accounting for 27.1% of cases.
Other major categories with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin over the past five years were: Other (25.4%), National Internal Security/Terrorism (13.6%), Narcotics/Drugs (11.9%), White Collar Crime (11.9%), Official Corruption (6.8%).
| Program Area | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapons | 27.1% | 26.3% | 4.5% | More |
| Other | 25.4% | 23.6% | 32.8% | More |
| National Internal Security/Terrorism | 13.6% | 1.8% | 1.2% | |
| Narcotics/Drugs | 11.9% | 19.8% | 23.1% | |
| White Collar Crime | 11.9% | 19.3% | 20.7% | |
| Official Corruption | 6.8% | 3.3% | 2.5% | |
| Government Regulatory | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.0% | |
| Not specified | 1.7% | 2.1% | 10.4% |
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 30.5% 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 1951 - Hobbs Act" (16.9%), "18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors" (10.2%), "21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (10.2%), "18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds" (5.1%), "18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes" (5.1%), "18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts" (3.4%), "18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (3.4%).
| Lead Charge | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US | 30.5% | 15.7% | 3.0% | More |
| 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act | 16.9% | 17.2% | 2.5% | More |
| 18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors | 10.2% | 3.1% | 4.8% | |
| 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A | 10.2% | 7.9% | 11.0% | |
| 18 USC 666 - Theft or bribery in programs receiving Fed funds | 5.1% | 0.5% | 0.7% | |
| 18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes | 5.1% | 8.7% | 11.0% | |
| 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts | 3.4% | 4.3% | 2.6% | |
| 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television | 3.4% | 2.9% | 3.2% | |
| 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally | 1.7% | 0.2% | 0.6% | |
| 18 USC 1014 - Fraud - Loan and credit applications etc | 1.7% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
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 | 18.00 | 09/19/12 | Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challenge pending) | Details |
| 2 | 1 | 150.00 | 09/07/12 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 3 | 1 | 128.00 | 08/09/12 | Bank Robbery | Details |
| 2 | 2 | 300.00 | 07/19/12 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 3 | 2 | 20.00 | 06/12/12 | Bank Robbery | Details |
| 4 | 1 | 0.01 | 03/30/12 | Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force | Details |
| 5 | 1 | 30.00 | 03/23/12 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 6 | 1 | 180.00 | 01/11/12 | Project Safe Childhood | Details |
| 7 | 1 | 96.00 | 12/07/11 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 8 | 1 | 12.03 | 12/06/11 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 8 | 2 | 8.00 | 12/06/11 | Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major | Details |
| 9 | 1 | 70.00 | 11/03/11 | Project Safe Childhood | Details |
| 10 | 1 | 0.00 | 10/11/11 | Other Criminal Prosecutions | Details |
Table 4: Individual Cases and Defendants Disposed of in Current Fiscal Year