Judge Mary A. McLaughlin
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence

District Court - Pennsylvania East
Referring Agency: Department of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District		 Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 180.0 - -
Previous Fiscal Year 12.0 - -
Past 5 Years 47.0 -25.4% -17.5%
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 180.0 months, when looking only at cases referred by the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms. During the current fiscal year, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin has sentenced 3 defendants compared with 4 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 47.0 months. This was 25.4% lower than the 63.0 months typical in Pennsylvania East and 17.5% lower than the 57.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge Mary A. McLaughlin sentenced 30 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 104.0 months, putting Judge McLaughlin's median prison sentence of 47.0 months at the lower end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Pennsylvania during that time was 63.0 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 Weapons accounting for 83.3% 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 (10.0%), Other (6.7%).

Program Area Judge District US  
Weapons 83.3% 79.7% 69.5% More
Narcotics/Drugs 10.0% 14.9% 17.7%  
Other 6.7% 1.7% 3.4%  

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 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts". It accounted for 36.7% 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: "21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (36.7%), "18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties" (20.0%), "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (3.3%), "21 USC 844 - Penalty for simple possession" (3.3%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 36.7% 34.5% 60.6% More
21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 36.7% 22.3% 10.8% More
18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 20.0% 13.1% 4.6%  
18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 3.3% 6.5% 0.8%  
21 USC 844 - Penalty for simple possession 3.3% 0.1% 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 1 180.00 07/12/12 Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major Details
2 1 60.00 05/01/12 Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major Details
3 1 180.00 12/13/11 Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major Details

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