Judge Susan Webber Wright
September 2012: Average Prison Sentence

District Court - Arkansas East
Program Area: White Collar Crime

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District
Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 18.8 42.7% -22.8%
Previous Fiscal Year 6.0 - -
Past 5 Years 15.3 -5.5% -34.1%
Percent not reported where cases too few to provide
meaningful comparison.

Table 1: Current and 5 Year
Average Prison Sentence Comparison

For all cases disposed of in the current fiscal year (2012) that were credited to Judge Susan Webber Wright in the Eastern District of Arkansas, the average prison sentence was 18.8 months, when looking only at cases falling under the broad category of "White Collar Crime". This number is 42.7% higher than the average prison sentence for all the Eastern District of Arkansas matters disposed in the same period. At the same time, the judge's average prison sentence was 22.8% lower than the typical 2012 sentence for the nation as a whole. During the current fiscal year, Judge Susan Webber Wright has sentenced 10 defendants compared with 6 defendants during the twelve months of the previous fiscal year. Judge Susan Webber Wright's service terminated on December 1, 1990, due to statutory reassignment of judg.

Focusing on a five-year period, the average prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge Wright was 15.3 months. This was 5.5% lower than the 16.2 months typical in Arkansas East and 34.1% lower than the 23.2 months average prison sentence for the nation. Judge Susan Webber Wright sentenced 50 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 Average Prison Sentence
in Months

Figure 1 compares Judge Wright'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 6 other judges in the Eastern District of Arkansas with information on convictions during that period. Average prison sentence numbers passed down for those judges ranged from 5.2 months to 20.0 months, putting Judge Wright's average prison sentence of 15.3 months at the lower end of the range. The average prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Arkansas during that time was 16.2 months.

Bar chart of label

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

Professional Biography

Born 1948 in Texarkana, AR

Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U. S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas

Nominated by George H.W. Bush on September 21, 1989, to a seat vacated by Elsijane Trimble Roy; Confirmed by the Senate on January 23, 1990, and received commission on January 24, 1990. Service terminated on December 1, 1990, due to statutory reassignment of judges.

Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas

Nominated by George H.W. Bush on September 21, 1989, to a seat vacated by Elsijane Trimble Roy; Confirmed by the Senate on January 23, 1990, and received commission on January 24, 1990. Served as chief judge, 1998-2005.

Education:
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, B.A., 1970
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, M.P.A., 1973
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law, J.D., 1975

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. J. Smith Henley, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1975-1976
Faculty, University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, 1976-1990
Assistant professor and assistant dean, 1976-1978
Associate professor, 1980-1983
Professor, 1983-1990
Research assistant, Arkansas Constitutional Convention, 1979
Visiting assistant professor, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law, 1980
Visiting associate professor, Ohio State University College of Law, 1981
Visiting associate professor, Louisiana State University Law Center, 1982-1983

Lead Investigative Agencies in Cases Handled

The lead investigative agency that referred cases disposed of by Judge Susan Webber Wright for the past five years was the Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation. It accounted for 42.0% of all cases.

Other agencies with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Susan Webber Wright over the past five years were: Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) (22.0%), Treasury - Internal Revenue Service (8.0%), Postal Service (6.0%), Other - Social Security Administration (6.0%), Defense (4.0%), Health and Human Services (4.0%), Other (4.0%).

Agency Judge District US  
Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation 42.0% 40.4% 32.5% More
Homeland Security - Secret Service (formerly Treasury) 22.0% 20.0% 17.4% More
Treasury - Internal Revenue Service 8.0% 5.2% 11.2%  
Postal Service 6.0% 8.3% 11.6%  
Other - Social Security Administration 6.0% 12.2% 4.9%  
Defense 4.0% 0.9% 0.7%  
Health and Human Services 4.0% 3.0% 3.5%  
Other 4.0% 1.7% 2.7%  
Agriculture 2.0% 0.9% 0.9%  
Treasury - Other 2.0% 0.4% 0.5%  

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 Susan Webber Wright for the past five years was "18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television". It accounted for 14.0% of all cases.

Other lead charges with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge Susan Webber Wright over the past five years were: "18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices" (12.0%), "18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles" (12.0%), "18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records" (10.0%), "18 USC 1347 - Health Care Fraud" (10.0%), "18 USC 513 - Securities of the States and private entities" (8.0%), "18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud" (6.0%), "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (4.0%), "18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents" (4.0%), "31 USC 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir" (4.0%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 14.0% 14.8% 8.5%  
18 USC 1029 - Fraud and related activity - access devices 12.0% 13.5% 5.9%  
18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles 12.0% 8.7% 10.2%  
18 USC 641 - Public money, property or records 10.0% 15.7% 4.8%  
18 USC 1347 - Health Care Fraud 10.0% 7.8% 4.1%  
18 USC 513 - Securities of the States and private entities 8.0% 2.2% 1.4%  
18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 6.0% 9.1% 13.0%  
18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 4.0% 3.5% 7.6%  
18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 4.0% 3.9% 6.1%  
31 USC 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir 4.0% 0.9% 0.2%  

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

Number of Defendants in Judge Susan Webber Wright's Cases

Case Def. Sentence (Months) Sentencing Date Program Category  
1 1 0.00 09/12/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Other Details
2 1 24.00 06/05/12 Fraud-Federal Program Details
3 1 0.00 04/05/12 Fraud-Federal Program Details
4 2 0.00 02/28/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Other Details
4 1 0.00 02/10/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Other Details
4 3 0.00 02/01/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Other Details
5 1 48.00 01/30/12 Fraud-Tax Details
5 2 48.00 01/27/12 Fraud-Tax Details
6 1 20.00 12/01/11 Fraud-Tax Details
7 1 48.00 10/04/11 Fraud-Financial Institution Details

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