Judge James Block Zagel
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence
District Court - Illinois North
Program Area: Organized Crime
District Court - Illinois North
Program Area: Organized Crime
Judge James Block Zagel didn't dispose of any cases in the Northern District of Illinois in the current fiscal year (2012) falling under the broad category of "Organized Crime".
Over the last five years, the median prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge Zagel was 102.0 months. This was 121.7% higher than the 46.0 months typical in Illinois North and 175.7% higher than the 37.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge James Block Zagel sentenced 11 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 Zagel'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 10 other judges in the Northern District of Illinois with information on convictions during that period. Median prison sentence numbers passed down for those judges ranged from 0.0 months to 405.5 months, putting Judge Zagel's median prison sentence of 102.0 months at the higher end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Northern District of Illinois during that time was 46.0 months.
Professional Biography
Born 1941 in Chicago, IL
Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Nominated by Ronald Reagan on February 2, 1987, to a seat vacated by Frank J. McGarr; Confirmed by the Senate on April 21, 1987, and received commission on April 22, 1987.
Education:
University of Chicago, B.A., 1962
University of Chicago, M.A., 1962
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1965
Professional Career:
Assistant state's attorney, Cook County, Illinois, 1965-1969
Assistant attorney general, State of Illinois, 1969-1977
Deputy chief, Criminal Justice Division, 1969-1970
Chief, Criminal Justice Division, 1970-1977
Chief prosecuting attorney, Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, 1973-1975
Chief assistant attorney general, State of Arizona, 1975
Executive director, Illinois Law Enforcement Commision, 1977-1979
Director, Department of Revenue, State of Illinois, 1979-1980
Chairman, Governor's Advisory Counsel on Criminal Justice Legislation, 1980-1987
Director of state police, State of Illinois, 1980-1987
Lead Investigative Agencies in Cases Handled
The lead investigative agency that referred cases disposed of by Judge James Block Zagel for the past five years was the Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation. It accounted for 100.0% of all cases.
| Agency | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation | 100.0% | 72.7% | 59.5% | More |
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 James Block Zagel for the past five years was "18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities". It accounted for 100.0% of all cases.
| Lead Charge | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities | 100.0% | 33.3% | 18.7% | More |
Table 3: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)
Number of Defendants in Judge James Block Zagel's Cases
Judge James Block Zagel didn't handle any convictions of this type in the current fiscal year 2012.