Judge Mary A. McLaughlin
September 2012: Median Prison Sentence
District Court - Pennsylvania East
Referring Agency: United States Postal Service
Program Area: White Collar CrimeFor 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 30.0 months, when looking only at cases referred by the United States Postal Service falling under the broad category of "White Collar Crime". This number is 25.0% higher than the median prison sentence for all the Eastern District of Pennsylvania matters disposed in the same period. At the same time, the judge's median prison sentence was 42.9% higher than the typical 2012 sentence for the nation as a whole. During the current fiscal year, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin has sentenced 11 defendants compared with one defendant 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 McLaughlin was 31.0 months. This was 47.5% higher than the 21.0 months typical in Pennsylvania East and 72.2% higher than the 18.0 months median prison sentence for the nation. Judge Mary A. McLaughlin 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.)
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 24 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 67.5 months, putting Judge McLaughlin's median prison sentence of 31.0 months at the higher end of the range. The median prison sentence for the whole Eastern District of Pennsylvania during that time was 21.0 months.
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
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 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US". It accounted for 64.3% 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: "18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud" (21.4%), "18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents" (7.1%), "18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (7.1%).
Lead Charge Judge District US 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 64.3% 55.2% 8.9% 18 USC 1344 - Bank Fraud 21.4% 15.2% 16.5% 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 7.1% 1.6% 10.3% 18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television 7.1% 2.4% 5.6%
Table 2: 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 1 102.00 08/30/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 1 2 94.00 08/30/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 2 1 0.03 07/17/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 3 1 0.01 07/03/12 Fraud-Financial Institution Details 4 1 32.00 06/12/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 5 1 0.01 06/05/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 6 1 24.00 05/31/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 7 1 0.03 05/10/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 1 3 33.00 04/17/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 1 4 30.00 02/14/12 Fraud-Identity Theft-Aggravated Details 8 1 46.00 11/04/11 Fraud-Mortgage Details
Table 3: Individual Cases and Defendants Disposed of in Current Fiscal Year