Judge Mary A. McLaughlin
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence

District Court - Pennsylvania East
Referring Agency: Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District
Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 30.0 - -
Previous Fiscal Year 12.0 - -
Past 5 Years 36.5 103% 115%
Percent not reported where cases too few to provide
meaningful comparison.

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 30.0 months, when looking only at cases referred by the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During the current fiscal year, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin has sentenced 6 defendants compared with 7 defendants during the twelve months of the previous fiscal year.

Over the last five years, the median prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge McLaughlin was 36.5 months. This was 102.8% higher than the 18.0 months typical in Pennsylvania East and 114.7% higher than the 17.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge Mary A. McLaughlin sentenced 36 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 5.0 months to 60.0 months, putting Judge McLaughlin's median prison sentence of 36.5 months at the higher end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Pennsylvania during that time was 18.0 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

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 Immigration accounting for 30.6% of cases.

Other major categories with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Mary A. McLaughlin over the past five years were: Narcotics/Drugs (25.0%), Withheld by Govt from TRAC (22.2%), Organized Crime (8.3%), Other (8.3%).

Program Area Judge District US  
Immigration 30.6% 62.6% 62.0% More
Narcotics/Drugs 25.0% 16.6% 25.9%  
Not specified 22.2% 2.2% 2.2%  
Organized Crime 8.3% 3.4% 0.1%  
Other 8.3% 7.1% 4.7%  
Government Regulatory 2.8% 2.2% 1.5%  
White Collar Crime 2.8% 3.6% 1.8%  

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 "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy". It accounted for 27.8% 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: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (22.2%), "Withheld by govt from TRAC (FOIA challenge pending)" (22.2%), "18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" (5.6%), "18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors" (5.6%), "21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (5.6%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 27.8% 12.1% 3.3% More
08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 22.2% 49.9% 49.9%  
Not specified 22.2% 2.2% 2.2%  
18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 5.6% 0.9% 3.0%  
18 USC 2252 - Material involving sexual exploitation of minors 5.6% 5.6% 2.4%  
21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 5.6% 4.2% 13.1%  
18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 2.8% 1.6% 0.3%  
18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 2.8% 3.1% 1.2%  
18 USC 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments 2.8% 1.4% 0.3%  
18 USC 2423 - Transportation of minors for sexual activity 2.8% 0.4% 0.1%  

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 30.00 09/25/12 Drugs-Drug Trafficking Details
2 1 46.01 06/07/12 Immigration Details
3 1 97.00 05/24/12 Organized Crime-Emerging Organization Details
4 1 6.00 02/02/12 Drugs-Drug Trafficking Details
5 1 8.01 01/24/12 Immigration Details
6 1 30.00 12/12/11 Immigration Details

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