Judge James Block Zagel
September 2012: Average Prison Sentence

District Court - Illinois North
Referring Agency: Internal Revenue Service

Show Details   Judge Compared
To District		 Compared
To U.S.
Latest Fiscal Year 27.3 - -
Previous Fiscal Year 24.0 - -
Past 5 Years 38.1 1.8% 40.2%
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 James Block Zagel in the Northern District of Illinois, the average prison sentence was 27.3 months, when looking only at cases referred by the Internal Revenue Service. During the current fiscal year, Judge James Block Zagel has sentenced 3 defendants compared with one defendant during the twelve months of the previous fiscal year.

Over the last five years, the average prison sentence imposed on defendants that were credited to Judge Zagel was 38.1 months. This was 1.8% higher than the 37.5 months typical in Illinois North and 40.2% higher than the 27.2 months average prison sentence for the nation. Judge James Block Zagel sentenced 14 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 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 25 other judges in the Northern District of Illinois with information on convictions during that period. Average prison sentence numbers passed down for those judges ranged from 0.0 months to 120.0 months, putting Judge Zagel's average prison sentence of 38.1 months at the higher end of the range. The average prison sentence for the whole Northern District of Illinois during that time was 37.5 months.

Bar chart of label

Figure 2: Detailed Comparison among Judges for the Northern District of Illinois

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 Narcotics/Drugs accounting for 42.9% of cases.

Other major categories with substantial numbers of cases that were disposed by Judge James Block Zagel over the past five years were: White Collar Crime (35.7%), Government Regulatory (21.4%).

Program Area Judge District US  
Narcotics/Drugs 42.9% 15.0% 7.9%  
White Collar Crime 35.7% 55.6% 70.4%  
Government Regulatory 21.4% 13.7% 7.2%  

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 42.9% 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: "26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements" (35.7%), "18 USC 286 - Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims" (7.1%), "26 USC 7203 - Willful failure to file return, supply information" (7.1%), "31 USC 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir" (7.1%).

Lead Charge Judge District US  
21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 42.9% 6.5% 1.6%  
26 USC 7206 - Fraud and False statements 35.7% 29.4% 18.3%  
18 USC 286 - Conspiracy to defraud the Government claims 7.1% 3.9% 4.0%  
26 USC 7203 - Willful failure to file return, supply information 7.1% 2.6% 2.8%  
31 USC 5324 - Structuring transactions to evade reporting requir 7.1% 3.9% 3.7%  

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 41.00 06/06/12 Fraud-Tax Details
1 2 41.00 06/04/12 Fraud-Tax Details
2 1 0.00 10/19/11 Fraud-Tax Details

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