Judge James Block Zagel
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence
District Court - Illinois North
Referring Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation
District Court - Illinois North
Referring Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation
For all cases disposed of in the current fiscal year (2012) that were credited to Judge James Block Zagel in the Northern District of Illinois, the median prison sentence was 60.0 months, when looking only at cases referred by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This number is 5.3% higher than the median prison sentence for all the Northern District of Illinois matters disposed in the same period. At the same time, the judge's median prison sentence was 37.9% higher than the typical 2012 sentence for the nation as a whole. During the current fiscal year, Judge James Block Zagel has sentenced 17 defendants compared with 11 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 Zagel was 48.0 months. This was 11.1% lower than the 54.0 months typical in Illinois North and 14.3% higher than the 42.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge James Block Zagel sentenced 67 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 26 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 32.0 months to 92.0 months, putting Judge Zagel's median prison sentence of 48.0 months at the lower end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Northern District of Illinois during that time was 54.0 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
Program Areas of Cases Handled
Cases disposed of by Judge James Block Zagel for the past five years fell into a number of broad categories. The lead category for these cases was Other accounting for 26.9% of cases.
Other major categories with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge James Block Zagel over the past five years were: Narcotics/Drugs (25.4%), White Collar Crime (17.9%), Organized Crime (16.4%), Withheld by Govt from TRAC (9.0%).
| Program Area | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 26.9% | 34.9% | 32.8% | More |
| Narcotics/Drugs | 25.4% | 24.7% | 23.1% | More |
| White Collar Crime | 17.9% | 21.2% | 20.7% | More |
| Organized Crime | 16.4% | 1.5% | 2.2% | More |
| Not specified | 9.0% | 13.4% | 10.4% | |
| Government Regulatory | 3.0% | 0.6% | 1.0% | |
| National Internal Security/Terrorism | 1.5% | 0.8% | 1.2% |
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 "21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A". It accounted for 20.9% of all cases.
Other lead charges with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge James Block Zagel over the past five years were: "18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities" (16.4%), "18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes" (16.4%), "Withheld by govt from TRAC (FOIA challenge pending)" (9.0%), "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (7.5%), "18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (6.0%), "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (4.5%), "18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles" (4.5%), "18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud" (4.5%).
| Lead Charge | Judge | District | US | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A | 20.9% | 13.6% | 11.0% | More |
| 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities | 16.4% | 0.7% | 0.9% | More |
| 18 USC 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes | 16.4% | 23.6% | 11.0% | More |
| Not specified | 9.0% | 13.9% | 10.6% | |
| 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy | 7.5% | 9.7% | 11.0% | |
| 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television | 6.0% | 6.5% | 3.2% | |
| 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US | 4.5% | 1.3% | 3.0% | |
| 18 USC 1341 - Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindles | 4.5% | 7.0% | 3.8% | |
| 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud | 4.5% | 2.9% | 3.8% | |
| 18 USC 656 - Theft/embezzlement/misapplication by bank off, emp | 1.5% | 0.6% | 0.8% |
Table 3: Composition of Cases for the Past Five Years (Top 10)
Number of Defendants in Judge James Block Zagel's Cases
| Case | Def. | Sentence (Months) | Sentencing Date | Program Category | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 78.00 | 09/06/12 | Bank Robbery | Details |
| 2 | 1 | 60.00 | 08/21/12 | Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force | Details |
| 3 | 2 | 0.00 | 07/17/12 | Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challenge pending) | Details |
| 4 | 1 | 0.10 | 06/15/12 | Fraud-Financial Institution | Details |
| 5 | 1 | 2.00 | 06/14/12 | Fraud-Computer | Details |
| 6 | 1 | 121.00 | 06/12/12 | Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force | Details |
| 7 | 1 | 90.00 | 06/08/12 | Terrorism-International | Details |
| 8 | 1 | 0.34 | 05/31/12 | Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force | Details |
| 9 | 1 | 168.00 | 05/25/12 | Bank Robbery | Details |
| 10 | 2 | 24.00 | 04/03/12 | Other Criminal Prosecutions | Details |
| 10 | 3 | 0.33 | 03/28/12 | Other Criminal Prosecutions | Details |
| 11 | 1 | 144.00 | 02/29/12 | Bank Robbery | Details |
| 3 | 1 | 90.00 | 12/22/11 | Withheld by Govt from TRAC (FOIA challenge pending) | Details |
| 12 | 1 | 18.00 | 12/16/11 | Money Laundering-Drug | Details |
| 13 | 1 | 22.00 | 12/14/11 | Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force | Details |
| 14 | 1 | 90.00 | 12/08/11 | Other Criminal Prosecutions | Details |
| 10 | 1 | 168.00 | 12/07/11 | Other Criminal Prosecutions | Details |
Table 4: Individual Cases and Defendants Disposed of in Current Fiscal Year