U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2002


September 2004, NCJ 205368


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Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Director, BJS

This Bureau of Justice Statistics Report was prepared by the
Urban Institute under the supervision of Steven K. Smith and 
Mark Motivans of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). This
report was prepared under BJS grant number 98-BJ-CX-K015. 
Principal staff at the Urban Institute were Laura Winterfield,
William Adams, Avi Bhati, Kamala Mallik Kane, Barbara Parthasa
rathy, Sam Wolf, Christine Arriola, and Yan Yuan. Layout and
design were by Mick Schomm er. Tom Hester of BJS provided
editorial review. 

This report is made possible through the cooperation of the
following Federal agencies and their staffs: The United States
Marshals Service (USMS), the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
(AOUSC), the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA),and 
the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The staff who provided
expert advice about the source records include: Joe Briggs
(USMS); Steven Schlesinger and Catherine Whitaker(AOUSC);
Barbara Tone, Siobhan Sperin, and Laurie Hamilton (EOUSA); 
Sue Allison and Nancy Miller (BOP); and Lou Reedt and
Christine Kitchens (U.S. Sentencing Commission).

The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the 
views or policies of the Bureau of Justice Statistics or the 
U.S. Department of Justice. 

BJS authorizes any person to reproduce, publish, translate, or 
otherwise use all or any part of the material in this publication; 
citation to source, however, is appreciated.

An electronic version of this report and the data underlying
graphics may be found on the BJS Internet Home Page
(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/). The BJS-sponsored Federal
Justice Statistics Resource Center (FJSRC)Internet Home Page
(http://fjsrc.urban.org)provides online access to the Federal
Justice database. Users may download data from the Federal
Justice database for independent analysis or use the online
query system to quickly obtain customized statistics. 

To order additional copies of this report or CD-ROM's containing 
the Federal Justice database, call the BJS Clearing house at
1-800-851-3420.

Contents

Highlights, 

Arrest
Prosecution
Pretrial release
Adjudication
Sentencing
Appeals
Corrections

Introduction, 

Organization of the Compendium
Modifications in the 2002 Compendium
Notes to reader

System overview, 

Chapter 1.  Arrests for Federal offenses, 
Arrests by offense categories
Arrests by law enforcement agencies
Arrests by Drug Enforcement 
Administration agents 
Arrests across demographic groups

Tables,

Chapter notes,

Chapter 2.  Prosecution, 

U.S. attorneys' decisions
Suspects in matters received
Suspects in matters concluded

Tables, 

Chapter notes, 

Chapter 3.  Pretrial release, 

Types of pretrial release
Factors relating to release or detention
Pretrial outcomes by offense categories
Pretrial outcomes across demographic groups
Length of pretrial detention

Tables, 

Chapter notes,  

Chapter 4.  Adjudication, 

Defendants in criminal cases filed
Defendants in criminal cases terminated
Case processing times
Convictions by U.S. magistrates
Characteristics of convicted defendants

Tables,
  
Chapter notes,  

Chapter 5.  Sentencing, 

Offenders convicted and sentences imposed
Average prison sentences imposed
Relationship between sentence imposed and mode of conviction
Characteristics of offenders sentenced to prison

Tables, 

Chapter notes, 

Chapter 6.  Appeals, 

Appeals filed
Appeals terminated

Tables, 

Chapter notes, 

Chapter 7.  Corrections, 

Federal offenders under supervision
Outcomes of offenders completing supervision
Characteristics of offenders completing supervision
Admissions, releases, and standing population of Federal 
prisoners
Federal prisoners: First releases and time served
Characteristics of Federal prisoners

Tables, 

Chapter notes, 

Methodology, 

The Federal justice database
Table construction and interpretation
Offense classifications
Source agencies for Compendium data tables

Glossary, 

Tables

Chapter 1.  Arrests for Federal offenses,
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Suspects arrested for Federal offenses, by offense

Suspects arrested for Federal offenses and booked by U.S. Marshals
Service, by Federal law enforcement agency

Characteristics of Federal arrestees booked by U.S. Marshals 
Service

Characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement 
Administration agents, by type of drug

Characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement 
Administration agents, by weapon use at time of arrest

Chapter 2.  Prosecution, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Suspects in matters received by U.S. attorneys, by offense

Disposition of suspects in matters concluded, by offense

Suspects in matters concluded and declined, by investigating agency

Basis for declination of prosecution by U.S. attorneys

Disposition of matters declined for prosecution by U.S. 
attorneys, by offense

Mean and median processing times from receipt to filing or 
declination, by offense

Chapter 3.  Pretrial release, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Outcomes of initial and detention hearings

Type of pretrial release, by offense

Form of pretrial detention, by offense

Type of pretrial release, by defendant characteristics

Form of pretrial detention, by defendant characteristics 

Pretrial detention hearing outcomes, by offense

Pretrial detention hearing outcomes, by defendant characteristics
 
Behavior of defendants released prior to trial, by offense
 
Behavior of defendants released prior to trial, by type of release

Behavior of defendants released prior to trial, by defendant 
characteristics 

Length of pretrial detention, by form of release or detention, 
and most serious offense charged

Chapter 4.  Adjudication, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Defendants in criminal cases commenced, by offense

Disposition of criminal cases terminated, by offense

Time from filing to disposition of criminal cases terminated

Dispositions by U.S. magistrates

Characteristics of convicted offenders

Chapter 5.  Sentencing, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Sentence types in criminal cases terminated, by offense

Type and length of sentences imposed, by offense

Sentences imposed on convicted offenders, by offense of conviction 
and method of disposition

Convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, by offense and 
offender characteristics

Average incarceration sentence lengths imposed, by offense and 
offender characteristics

Median incarceration sentence lengths imposed, by offense and 
offender characteristics

Chapter 6.  Appeals, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Criminal appeals filed, by type of criminal case and offense

Criminal appeals filed and criminal appeals terminated, by offense

Criminal appeals terminated, by type of criminal case and offense

Disposition of criminal appeals terminated on the merits, by offense

Criminal appeals cases terminated on the merits, by nature of offense 

Chapter 7.  Corrections, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Federal offenders under supervision, by offense

Characteristics of Federal offenders under supervision, 
by offense

Outcomes of probation supervision, by offense

Characteristics of offenders terminating probation supervision

Outcomes of supervised release, by offense

Characteristics of offenders terminating supervised release

Outcomes of parole, by offense

Characteristics of offenders terminating parole

Admissions and releases of Federal prisoners, by offense

Characteristics of Federal prison population, by major offense 
category

Number of first releases from Federal prison, by release method 
and sentence length

Average time to first release and percent of sentence served, 
for prisoners released by standard methods

Mean time served to first release, by length of sentence 
imposed, offense, and type of case, for prisoners released 
by standard methods

Percent of sentence served to first release, by length of 
sentence imposed, offense, and type of case, for prisoners 
released by standard methods

Characteristics of first releases from prison, by offense, 
all releases

Mean time served to first release from Federal prison for 
prisoners released by standard methods, by offense and 
offender characteristics
   
Figures

Highlights, 

October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Average length of sentences imposed, by offense

Admissions to Federal Bureau of Prisons, releases, and
prisoners at yearend, by offense

Average time to first release, standard releases, by offense

System overview, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

System overview, Federal criminal case processing

Federal criminal case processing outcomes

Chapter 1.  Arrests for Federal offenses,
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Type of drug involved in drug arrests, by race of arrestee

Type of immigration arrests

Suspects arrested by the DEA, by State of arrest

Chapter 2.  Prosecution,  21
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Suspects in matters concluded:  Percentage of suspects
that were prosecuted in U.S. district court

Suspects in matters referred, by Federal judicial district 

Chapter 3.  Pretrial release, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Percent of defendants released prior to case disposition, by
offense category

Detention hearings held, by offense category

Pretrial release rates, by defendant characteristics

Pretrial release violation and revocation rates, for cases 
terminated

Chapter 4.  Adjudication, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Disposition of cases terminated

Average time from filing to disposition of cases terminated, 
by offense

Chapter 5.  Sentencing, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Rates of incarceration and probation for offenders convicted
and sentenced in cases terminated

Incarceration and probation sentence lengths (in months) of
offenders convicted and sentenced in cases terminated

Average prison sentences imposed on defendants convicted
at trial or by guilty plea

Chapter 6.  Appeals, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Types of criminal appeal cases

Appeals cases filed, by type of offense

Disposition of criminal appeals terminated 

Chapter 7.  Corrections, 
October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Violation rates of offenders terminating probation,
supervised release, or parole, by type of violation

Violation rates of offenders completing probation,
supervised release, or parole, by category of offense

Rates of violation of conditions of supervision, by level of
education

Mean lengths of sentence imposed and time served(in months)for 
offenders released from prison for the first time

Characteristics of first releasees

Federal offenders under supervision, by Federal judicial 
district

Highlights

The number of suspects investigated by U.S. attorneys increased
between 2001 and 2002, from 121,818 to 124,335. About three-quarters 
of those for which the investigation was concluded were prosecuted -- 
either before a U.S. district court judge (62%)or before a U.S. 
magistrate (11%) -- and 27% of those investigated were not prosecuted 
by U.S. attorneys.

The number of defendants prosecuted in Federal courts increased
slightly between 2001 and 2002, from 86,728 to 90,407. The number 
of offenders under Federal correctional supervision increased 77% 
between 1990 and 2002. At the end of fiscal year 2002, the number 
of offenders in Federal prison or on community supervision was 
250,398 compared to 141,790 during 1990. At the end of fiscal year 
2002, the number of Federal inmates serving a sentence of imprisonment 
was 143,031. The number under community supervision was 107,367. Over 
70% of those under community supervision were on post-incarceration 
supervised release (73,229) or parole (3,561).

Arrest

During 2002, 124,074 suspects were arrested by Federal law enforcement
agencies for violations of Federal law. Twenty-seven percent of those 
arrested and booked by the U.S. Marshals Service were for drug offenses, 
21% for immigration offenses, 18% for supervision violations, 14% for 
property offenses, 7% for public-order offenses, 6% for weapon offenses, 
4% for violent offenses, and 3% to secure and safeguard a material 
witness.

About 70% of suspects booked by the U.S. Marshals Service were arrested 
by Department of Justice agencies, while Treasury Department agencies
accounted for 12% of all arrests. Within the Department of Justice, 
the U.S. Marshals Service made 39% of the arrests; the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service, 33%; the Drug Enforcement Administration 
14%, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation 13%.

Prosecution

During 2002 U.S. attorneys initiated criminal investigations involving
124,335 suspects, and they concluded their investigations of 124,081
suspects. Thirty-one percent of the suspects were investigated for
drug, 22% for property, 19% for public order, 14% for immigration, 9%
for weapon, and 5% for violent offenses.

Of the suspects in criminal matters concluded, U.S. attorneys
prosecuted 76,314 in U.S. district courts and 14,093 were disposed of
before U.S. magistrates. During 2002, U.S. attorneys declined 27% of
matters concluded.

Suspects in criminal matters involving immigration or drug offenses
were more likely to be prosecuted in a U.S. district court (85% and
77%, respectively) than were suspects involved in weapon (70%),
violent (54%), property (54%), or public-order offenses (30%).
Suspects involved in property offenses (such as fraud), violent
offenses, or public-order offenses were more likely to be declined 
for prosecution (about 40%)than were suspects investigated for 
weapon (28%), drug (18%), or immigration (3%)offenses.

Pretrial release

Of 78,060 pretrial cases commenced in 2002, 37% of defendants were
released after either an initial or detention hearing, while 62% 
were detained, and less than 1 % were dismissed.

During 2002, 45% of the 71,572 defendants who terminated pretrial
services were released at some time prior to their criminal trial.
Defendants charged with property offenses or public-order offenses
were more likely to be released prior to trial (79% and 69%,
respectively)than were defendants charged with weapon (43%), 
drug (41%), violent (35%), or immigration (9%)offenses.

The proportion of defendants released prior to their trial decreased
from 62% during 1990 to 45% during 2002. 

Defendants having a prior criminal history of serious or violent crimes
were less likely to be released than those without a prior criminal
history; defendants with a greater number of prior convictions were
less likely to be released than those with fewer prior convictions. 
About 25% of the defendants with a prior violent felony conviction 
were released before trial, while 61% of defendants with no prior 
convictions were released. Forty-six percent of defendants with one 
prior conviction were released, as compared to 37% of defendants 
having two to four prior convictions and about 28% of defendants 
having five or more prior convictions.

Eighty-one percent of defendants released prior to trial completed 
their periods of release without violating the conditions of their 
release. Nineteen percent of defendants released violated the 
conditions of their release, and 8% of defendants had their release 
revoked. Defendants charged with weapon or drug offenses were more 
likely to commit at least one violation of their conditions of release 
(31% and 30%, respectively), while defendants charged with weapon or 
violent offenses were more likely to have their release revoked (13% 
and 12%,respectively) than were other defendants.

Defendants released during 2002 were more likely to violate the
conditions of their pretrial release than those released during 
1990. During 2002, 20% of those released at some point prior to 
trial violated a condition of their release. During 1990, 12% 
violated their release conditions.

Adjudication

During 2002, 87,727 defendants were charged in Federal courts with 
a criminal offense, 87% of whom were charged with felonies. Of the
defendants charged with felonies, 40% were prosecuted for drug, 21%
for property, 17% for immigration, 11% for weapon, 6% for public-
order, and 4% for violent offenses.

The number of defendants charged with a felony immigration offense
increased by 14% between 2001 and 2002, from 11,504 to 13,101.
The number charged with a felony weapon offense increased by 25%,
from 6,495 to 8,104.

Criminal cases were concluded against 80,424 defendants during 2002,87% 
of whom had been charged with felonies. The proportion of defendants 
convicted in the Federal courts increased from 81% during 1990 to 89% 
during 2002. The proportion of convicted defendants who pleaded guilty
increased from 87% during 1990 to 96% during 2002. About 92% of 
defendants charged with felonies were convicted. The conviction rate 
was similar for the major offense categories: 95% of defendants charged 
with immigration offenses, 92% of both drug and violent defendants, 
91% of property defendants, 89% of weapon defendants, and 88% of 
public-order defendants.

Sentencing

Defendants convicted during 2002 were more likely to be sentenced to
prison than those convicted during 1990. During 2002 about 75% of
defendants were sentenced to prison compared to 60% of those
sentenced during 1990.

Ninety-three percent of felony violent offenders received prison terms,
as did 92% of felony weapon offenders, 91% of felony drug offenders,
89% of felony immigration offenders, 66% of felony public-order
offenders, and 59% of felony property offenders.

The 53,682 offenders sentenced to prison received, on average, 57.1
months of imprisonment. Offenders sentenced for felony violent
offenses, felony weapon offenses, and felony drug offenses received
longer average prison terms (88.5, 83.9, and 76 months, respectively)
than those convicted of felony property, immigration, public-order
offenses (25, 27.9, and 38.5 months, respectively).

While the proportion of defendants sentenced to prison is at an all-
time high, average prison sentences have declined from the peak 
attained during 1992. During 1992 the average prison term imposed was 
62.6 months; for violent felony offenders, the average term imposed 
was 94.8 months; for drug felony offenders, the average term was 84.1
months. 

Appeals

Between 1994 and 2002, the number of appeals received by the U.S.
Courts of Appeals remained relatively stable -- between about 9,000
and 11,500 annually. However, the proportion of criminal defendants
appealing some aspect of their conviction decreased from 21% during
1994 to 16% during 2002.

During 2002, 11,569 criminal appeals were filed, a 3% increase from
FY2001 (11,281). Forty-nine percent of the appeals filed challenged
both the conviction and sentence imposed.  Only 4% of appeals were
filed by the Government. Of the 11,695 appeals terminated during
2002, 75% (or 8,770) were terminated on the merits.  In 83% of the
appeals terminated on the merits, the district court ruling was 
affirmed, at least in part.

Corrections

Community supervision

Between 1990 and 2002, the number of offenders on community
supervision increased by 27%, from 84,801 during 1990 to 107,367
during 2002.  While nearly equal proportions of offenders were 
serving terms of probation and post-incarceration supervision (parole 
or supervised release) during 1990, during 2002, over 71% were serving
a term of post-incarceration supervision(68% supervised release and
3% parole) while 28% were on probation.

Drug offenders comprised 12% of offenders on probation, 54% of
offenders serving terms of supervised release, and 45% of offenders
on parole. Property offenders comprised 38% of offenders on
probation, 24% of offenders serving terms of supervised release, and
8% of offenders on parole.

A total of 15,116 offenders terminated probation during 2002. Most of
these offenders (80%) completed their terms of probation successfully. 
Twelve percent of probationers terminating supervision during 2002
committed technical violations; 7% committed new crimes.

A total of 27,678 offenders completed terms of supervised release
during 2002. Of these offenders, 62% successfully completed their
terms without violating conditions of release; 23% committed technical
violations; and 13% committed new crimes.

A total of 1,817 offenders completed terms of parole during 2002. Of
these offenders, 58% successfully completed their terms without
violating conditions of release; 23% committed technical violations;
and 13% committed new crimes.

Prison

Between 1990 and 2002, the number of inmates serving a sentence of
imprisonment increased by 151%, from 56,989 during 1990 to 143,031
during 2002.

During 2002, 50,440 prisoners were received by the Bureau of Prisons
from U.S. district court commitments.  An additional 17,437 prisoners
were returned to Federal prison for violating conditions of probation,
parole, or supervised release, or were admitted to Federal prison from
elsewhere than a U.S. district court. 

Drug offenders -- who comprised 42% of persons admitted into
Federal prison -- comprised the largest percentage of persons in
prison (57%) at the end of 2002.

During 2002, 44,339 prisoners were released for the first time from
Federal prison after commitment by a U.S. district court. Of these,
39,568 were released by standard methods and 4,771 were released
by extraordinary means (death, treaty transfer, sentence commutation,
or drug treatment). An additional 16,493 prisoners were released from
subsequent commitments to Federal prison.

Average time served by Federal offenders increased from 24 months
during 1994 to 32 months during 2002. The proportion of the sentence
served increased from 65% during 1990 to 91% during 2002.

Violent, weapon, and drug offenders were among those offenders who
served the longest prison terms (59 months for violent offenders and
43 months each for weapon and drug offenders).

Introduction

This Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report presents an overview of
case processing in the Federal criminal justice system. The data
presented are compiled from the BJS Federal Justice Statistics
Program (FJSP) database. The FJSP database includes data provided
by the U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration,
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Executive Office for the U.S.
Attorneys, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Sentencing
Commission. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in addition
to providing data describing defendants in cases processed by the
Federal judiciary, provides data describing defendants processed by
the Federal pretrial services agencies and the Federal probation and
supervision service. The BJS Federal Justice Statistics database is
archived on CD-ROM, copies of which are available from the BJS
Clearinghouse. The data can be downloaded from the Federal Justice
Statistics Resource Center at <http://fjsrc.urban.org>.

Each agency reports on those defendants it processed during a given
year in an annual statistical report. These reports are often
incomparable across agencies due to the varying methods the
agencies use to report case processing activities. As reported by an
interagency working group, headed by BJS, the differences in the case
processing statistics are attributable, in part, to the differing 
needs and missions of the agencies. The working group found the 
following differences in reported statistics:

*  the universe of cases reported during a given period -- some
agencies report on those case processing events that occurred during
a particular period, whereas others report on those events recorded
during a particular period; and

*  many of the commonly used case processing statistics --
suspect/defendant processed, offense committed, disposition, and
sentence imposed -- are defined differently across agencies.

BJS, through its FJSP, has recognized the incomparability of these
annual statistical reports and has attempted to reconcile many of the
differences identified by the working group. For instance, by combining
databases from several years, BJS is able to report on those cases
that actually occurred during the reporting period. Commonly used
case processing statistics are made comparable across stages by
applying uniform definitions to data obtained from each agency.
Because definitions in the FJSP are consistent with those categories 
in BJS programs describing State defendants convicted, sentenced, or
imprisoned, the comparison of Federal and State case processing
statistics is facilitated.

The 2002 Compendium, 17th in a series which includes 1984, 1985,
1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,
1999, 2000, and 2001 describes defendants processed at each stage
of the Federal justice system -- arrest by Federal law enforcement
agencies (chapter 1), investigation and prosecution by the U.S.
attorneys (chapter 2), pretrial release or detention (chapter 3),
adjudication in the U.S. district courts (chapter 4), sentencing 
(chapter 5), appeal of the conviction and/or sentence imposed (chapter 
6), and corrections (chapter 7) -- for the 12-month period ending 
September 30, 2002 (the Federal fiscal year). Prior to 1994, the 
Compendium was reported on a calendar-year basis.

The tables presented report events that occurred during the Federal
fiscal year -- October 1, 2001-- September 30, 2002. Generally, the
tables include both individual and organizational defendants.
Organizational defendants are not included in tables describing 
pretrial release and detention, tables showing defendants sentenced 
to incarceration, or tables describing offenders under post-conviction
community supervision. Juvenile offenders charged as adults are
included in the reported statistics. Felony and misdemeanor distinctions 
are provided where possible(see "Offense classifications" in Methodology).

Organization of the Compendium

Each chapter of the Compendium describes a major stage in the pro-
cessing of criminal suspects and defendants. Each chapter contains
Chapter notes that describe the universes of data used in the tables
and information relevant to the interpretation of individual tables. 
The Compendium contains the following:

Chapter 1 describes arrests made by Federal law enforcement agencies 
for violations of Federal law, including the characteristics of 
arrestees.

Chapter 2 describes decisions made by Federal prosecutors in
screening criminal matters and the characteristics of defendants in
cases prosecuted or declined for prosecution.

Chapter 3 describes the pretrial release and detention practices of the
Federal judiciary, including the characteristics of defendants detained
or released pending trial.

Chapter 4 describes actions by the Federal judiciary in adjudicating
defendants in cases filed by the U.S. attorneys, including the offense
charged and characteristics of defendants convicted.

Chapter 5 describes the sentences imposed by the Federal judiciary
on convicted defendants, including the characteristics of defendants
sentenced.

Chapter 6 describes appeals of criminal convictions and sentences
imposed in the Federal courts, including the original offense charged.

Chapter 7 describes defendants under Federal correctional
supervision -- probation, parole, and supervised release -- including
the outcome of the supervision (successful completion or violations),
admissions to and releases from Federal prison, and time served by
Federal inmates.

The Methodology section describes the procedures followed in
analyzing data and developing tables.

The Glossary contains definitions for terms used in the Compendium. 
Since many terms used in the text and tables have specialized
meanings (either because they refer to Federal law or because of
reporting procedures by the Federal agencies supplying the data),
readers are encouraged to check the glossary for exact definitions of
tabulated data.

Modifications in the 2002 Compendium

The FY2002 data marked the introduction of two new detailed offense
categories: "Wildlife offenses" and "Environmental offenses".
According to the reporting practices of this report, these two detailed
offenses are grouped under the major offense category, "Public-order
offenses, Other" in the tables. The "Wildlife offenses" category
supersedes the "Migratory birds" category that appeared in prior
Compendia and includes other wildlife-related offenses as well.

Notes to reader

The tables in the Compendium were constructed to permit valid
comparisons within each table and to allow the reader to compare
percentages (but not raw totals) across tables. It should be
understood, however, that the total number of subjects/defendants
shown in a particular table may not equal the number of subjects/
defendants involved in a particular stage of processing, since
some records could not be linked and some data sources did not
include information on particular data elements classified in a
particular table. Data notes indicate the exact universe for 
individual tables.

The Compendium is a statistical presentation of Federal criminal
justice information with limited analyses of trends or explanatory
factors underlying the statistics. Analyses of Federal justice 
statistics may be found in special reports and other publications, 
some of which are cited in the Compendium. Assessment of changing 
patterns in the Compendium tabulations may depend on detailed 
examination of subcategories not shown in the tabulations or may 
require other sources of information, such as knowledge of 
legislation or Federal agency procedures.

Chapter 1

Arrests for Federal offenses

Discussion

Tables

October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002

Suspects arrested for Federal offenses and booked by USMS, by offense\

Suspects arrested for Federal offenses and booked by USMS, by Federal 
law enforcement agency

Characteristics of Federal arrestees booked by USMS. . . . . . .

Characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration
agents, by type of drug

Characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration
agents, by weapons involved at time of arrest

Chapter notes

A recent Bureau of Justice Statistics survey found that, in 2002, 67
Federal agencies employed over 93,000 full-time officers with the
authority to carry firearms and make arrests.***Footnote 1:  Brian A.
Reaves and Lynn M. Bauer, Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2002,
Bureaus of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC (NCJ-199995).  This
report preceded realignments specified in the Homeland Security Act
of 2002.***  Three-fifths of these officers were employed by four
agencies: the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Bureau of
Prisons (BOP), Customs Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI). Certain military officers, Federal air marshals, and Central
Intelligence Agency Security Protective Service officers are also 
authorized to make arrests, but were not included in the survey.

In 2002 the U.S. Marshals Service employed over 2,600 officers with
arrest and firearm authority***Footnote 1:Brian A. Reaves and Lynn M.
Bauer, Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2002, Bureaus of Justice
Statistics, Washington, DC(NCJ-199995).  This report preceded
realignments specified in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.***  All
suspects arrested by Federal agencies are transferred to the custody
of the U.S. Marshals Service for processing, transportation, and
detention.***Footnote 2:  The Federal agency making the arrest may
be different from the Federal agency initiating the investigation
involving the arrestee.  Statistics describing agencies initiating
investigations are shown in table 2.3 of chapter 2, "Prosecution."***
During 2002, the U.S. Marshals Service received 124,074 suspects for
processing from the Federal law enforcement agencies, including over
34,000 suspects arrested by deputy U.S. marshals, and over 12,000
arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Number arrested and booked by offense categories

During 2002, 124,074 suspects were arrested by law enforcement
agencies for violations of Federal law and subsequently booked by the
U.S. Marshals Service. Of those suspects arrested and booked, 27%
were for drug offenses, 21% for immigration offenses, 18% for
supervision violations, 14% for property offenses, 7% for public-order
offenses, 6% for weapon offenses, 4% for violent offenses, and 3% to
secure and safeguard a material witness.

Examining drug arrests further, the greatest portion of drug arrests
(37%) involved cocaine (crack or powder); 22%, marijuana; 13%,
amphetamine (or methamphetamine); 6%, heroin; and the remainder
involved other drugs or drug paraphernalia. 

Examining immigration offenses further, most (84%) of arrests for
immigration offenses were for illegal entry into the United States; 12%
involved alien smuggling; 2% involved false claims of citizenship by
entrants to the United States; and 2% involved other immigration
violations.

Number arrested and booked by law enforcement agencies 

During 2002, 70% of all arrests for Federal offenses were made by
components of the Department of Justice and Department of Treasury
components accounted for another 12% of all arrests. In addition, 5%
of arrests were made by State and local agencies, and 7% of persons
were arrested after voluntarily reporting to the U.S. Marshals following
a summons.

Within the Department of Justice, 39% of arrests were made by the
U.S. Marshals Service, 33% were made by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, 14% were made by the Drug Enforcement
Administration, 13% were made by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and less than 1% were made by other Department of
Justice components.

Within the Treasury Department, 52% of arrests were made by the
U.S. Customs Service, 32% were made by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms, 13% were made by the Secret Service, and
4% were made by the Internal Revenue Service.

Suspects arrested and booked across demographic groups 

Most (86%) of the suspects arrested by Federal law enforcement
agencies during 2002 were male.  Over two-thirds (70%) were white
and about one-quarter (26%) were black.  Individuals between the
ages of 21 and 40 years comprised 70% of all those arrested.  More
than one-third (37%) of those arrested were identified as noncitizens.
 
About two-thirds (68%) of the suspects arrested for drug offenses
were white, and most of the remaining third (30%) were black. The
racial distribution of suspects differed by the type of drug involved.
Whites constituted the majority of suspects arrested for most drug
types, including amphetamines (93%), marijuana (89%), heroin (63%),
and other drugs (66%).  The exception was cocaine-related drug
arrests, with blacks comprising 58% of suspects and whites
comprising 41%.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Arrests reported by DEA agents                                                 
                                                     
(tables 1.4-1.5)

During 2002, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested
29,145 suspects. Not all of these suspects were booked for violations
of Federal law by the U.S. marshals: some were referred to U.S.
attorneys for a prosecutorial decision while others were referred to a
State prosecutor (see Chapter notes). 

Suspects arrested by DEA agents were predominantly white (70%),
non-Hispanic (58%), male (84%), and U.S. citizens (74%). The
greatest proportion of arrestees were between 21 and 30 years old
(44%).

Cocaine was the predominant drug involved in arrests made by DEA
agents, with cocaine powder comprising 25% of all arrests and crack
cocaine, 15%. Twenty-two percent of DEA arrests involved
methamphetamines; 19% involved marijuana; 8% involved opiates;
and 11% involved other drugs or non-drug offenses. The majority of
suspects arrested for each type of drug were white, with the exception
of crack cocaine, for which the majority of suspects were black. 

Five percent of all suspects were armed at the time of their arrest.
Subjects armed at time of arrest differed across demographic groups.
Males were twice as likely to be armed at arrest compared to females
(5% versus 3%). Blacks (5%) were more likely than whites (4%) to be
armed at arrest. Non-Hispanics (5%) were more likely than Hispanics
(4%) to be armed at arrest, and U.S. Citizens (5%) were more likely 
to be armed at arrest than noncitizens (4%). 

If armed at arrest, suspects from all demographic subgroups were
more likely to be armed with a handgun than any other weapon. Of 
the 1,351 suspects who were armed, 87% were armed with a handgun,
22% were armed with a shotgun or rifle, and 9% were armed with
another weapon.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter notes

1) Tables 1.1-1.3 were derived from the U.S. Marshals Prisoner
Tracking System. Only records of arrests made during October 1,
2001, through September 30, 2002, were selected.  Information on
individual cases, offenses, and detainees were used to construct 
the tables.

2) Tables 1.4-1.5 were derived from the DEA Defendants Statistical
System. Only records of arrests made during October 1, 2001, through
September 30, 2002, were selected. Counts of DEA arrests from
tables 1.4-1.5 will be higher than those reported as DEA arrests by 
the U.S. Marshals because some suspects arrested by DEA agents are
transferred to State or local jurisdiction and are, therefore, never
booked by the U.S. Marshals Service.  

3) The arrest of offense classification used by the U.S. Marshals were
aggregated into the categories shown in the tables. These categories
are similar, but may not be directly comparable, to categories used in
other tables of this Compendium.

Chapter 2

Prosecution   

Federal criminal cases may be brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office, 
by the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, or by 
other authorized agencies such as the U.S. Marshals Service. The 93 
U.S. attorneys serve as the chief Federal law enforcement officers 
within their respective districts.

Investigations are most commonly referred to a U.S. attorney by a
Federal investigative agency (primarily the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Immigration
and Naturalization Service; the Customs Bureau; the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and the Secret Service) or by a State
or local investigative agency. Investigations may also be initiated 
-- and cases brought directly -- by U.S. attorneys or by the Criminal 
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. This chapter reports on 
suspects that were at least partially investigated by U.S. Attorneys.

U.S. attorneys' decisions

After criminal investigations are initiated and criminal suspects are
referred to them, U.S. attorneys may file charges against defendants in
a U.S. district court, or they may file cases before U.S. magistrates,
who have the authority to adjudicate misdemeanor offenses (18 U.S.C.
sec. 3401); because of the relatively less serious nature of these
cases, and because they are handled by magistrates, the U.S. attorneys 
count these cases as criminal matters disposed by U.S. magistrates. U.S.
attorneys may also decline to file charges for reasons such as weak or
insufficient evidence, minimal Federal interest, lack of resources, or 
lack of criminal intent. Matters that are declined may be referred to 
another authority for prosecution or be settled through alternative 
resolution procedures. 

The decision to prosecute a suspect in a criminal matter depends
upon many factors, including the Attorney General's priorities, U.S.
attorney priorities and resources, laws governing each type of 
offense, and the strength of evidence in each case.

During 2002, 62% of the suspects investigated by U.S. attorneys were
prosecuted in U.S. district court, and U.S. magistrates handled an
additional 11%. Suspects were prosecuted at different rates depending
on the offense involved. Suspects in immigration matters were the
most likely to be prosecuted; 85% had charges filed against them in
U.S. district court and an additional 12% had charges filed before a
U.S. magistrate. The rate of prosecution was similar for drug offenses,
with 77% of suspects having charges filed in district court and 5%
having charges filed in magistrate court. About two-thirds of suspects
in weapon and violent offense matters were prosecuted, with most
(70% and 54%, respectively) being prosecuted in district court.

Public-order and property offenses were the least likely to be
prosecuted. Thirty percent of public-order suspects were prosecuted
in U.S. district court, and 33% were concluded by magistrates.
Fifty-four percent of property offense suspects were prosecuted in
district court.

Suspects in matters received

During 2002 there were 124,335 suspects in new matters received for
investigation by U.S. attorneys. Of these suspects, about one-third
(31%) were investigated for drug offenses; about one-fifth (22%) for
property offenses; 19% for public-order offenses; 14% for immigration
offenses; 9% for weapon offenses; and 5% for violent offenses.
Investigating and prosecuting terrorism threats and related persons
and enterprises were the highest priority for 2002, although violent
crimes -- particularly those involving firearms -- as well as identifying,
disrupting, and dismantling drug trafficking organizations continued to
be high priorities. Other areas of special emphasis during 2002
included corporate fraud and civil rights prosecution -- especially hate
crimes arising out of terrorist attacks on the United States.***Footnote
1: Statistical Report, United States Attorneys' Offices, Fiscal Year 
2002. U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States
Attorneys, Washington, DC.***

Disposition of suspects in matters concluded

Upon receiving a matter, a U.S. attorney may either decline it for
prosecution immediately or investigate further. Upon conclusion of 
the investigation, U.S. attorneys may file criminal charges in a U.S. 
district court, refer the matter to a U.S. magistrate, or decline the 
case for Federal prosecution. Of the 124,081 suspects in criminal 
matters concluded during 2002, 62% were prosecuted in U.S. district 
court, 11% were referred to U.S. magistrates, and 27% were declined 
for Federal prosecution.***Footnote 2: The number of suspects in 
criminal matters concluded is not comparable to the 1993 and prior 
compendia. See Chapter notes, item 2, p. 33, for details.***

Suspects prosecuted in U.S. district court -- U.S. attorneys prosecuted 
76,314 suspects in U.S. district courts during 2002. The likelihood of
prosecution in U.S. district court varied widely across offense 
categories. Suspects involved in immigration and drug offenses were 
more likely to be prosecuted than suspects in other types of offenses. 
U.S. attorneys filed charges in district court against most(85%)of the
suspects involved in immigration offenses and most (77%) of the suspects
involved in drug offenses; 70% of those in weapon offenses; 54% of those 
in violent offenses; 54% of those in property offenses; and 30% of those 
in public-order offenses.

Differences in rates of prosecution within major categories were
substantial.  For example, among violent offenses, 78% of robbery
suspects were prosecuted, while 23% of murder suspects, 46% of
assault suspects, 37% of kidnaping suspects, and approximately 42%
of sexual abuse suspects were prosecuted in U.S. district courts.
Among suspects investigated for property offenses, those in
counterfeiting matters had the highest rate of prosecution (64%), 
while those investigated for arson and explosives had one of the 
lowest rates of prosecution (45%). Among suspects investigated for
public-order offenses, those in antitrust (60%), tax law (56%), and
customs law matters (48%) were much more likely to be prosecuted
than suspects in escape (29%) and civil rights (4%) matters.

Suspects in matters concluded by U.S. magistrates -- During 2002
U.S. attorneys referred 11% of criminal matters investigated to U.S.
magistrates. Cases concluded by U.S. magistrates are, by statute,
misdemeanors.***Footnote 3: At the time that U.S. attorneys receive
them, matters may not be classifiable as felonies or misdemeanors. If
a  U.S. magistrate disposes of a case -- or what the U.S. attorneys call
a "matter" -- its offense level has been determined, by statute, to be a
misdemeanor.*** Public-order offenses made up the majority (54%) of
matters concluded by U.S. magistrates,  including conspiracy, aiding
and abetting, and jurisdictional offenses (33%) and escape violations
(9%). Immigration (14%), drug (14%), and property offenses (13%)
were also common.  Violent and weapon offenses comprised the smallest 
portion of the matters disposed by magistrates (2% and 1% respectively). 

For most offenses, the likelihood that a U.S. magistrate concluded the
matter was relatively low. Offenses having comparably high rates of
disposal by magistrates included traffic offenses (98%); liquor 
offenses (81%); conspiracy, aiding and abetting and jurisdictional 
offenses (84%); other property violations (70%); and escape violations 
(49%). Suspects in matters concluded and declined, by investigating
agency -- During 2002, 55% of suspects in matters concluded were
investigated by components of the Department of Justice; the Treasury
Department investigated 20% of suspects in matters concluded. In 
addition, independent Federal agencies and State/local agencies 
investigated 10% of suspects in matters concluded.

Among the investigating agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (4%), the National Park Service (4%), and the U.S. Army (5%)
had among the lowest declination rates, while the Health and Human
Service's Office of Inspector General (62%), the Small Business
Administration (66%), and the Environmental Protection Agency (60%)
were among those with the highest declination rates. The declination
rate for matters investigated by components of the Department of
Justice (28%) was about the same as the overall declination rate.

Suspects in matters declined for Federal prosecution   Twenty-seven 
percent of the matters concluded by U.S. attorneys in 2002 were 
declined for Federal prosecution.  Suspects in property and
public-order matters were the most likely to have their matters
declined (40% and 38%, respectively). Forty-one percent of matters
involving violent offenses were declined, as were 28% of weapon and
18% of drug matters.  Matters involving an immigration offense were
the least likely to be declined (3%).

The decision to decline Federal prosecution is based on a number of
factors, including the lack of a prosecutable offense, an alternative
resolution, or case- and suspect-related reasons. Of the 33,674
declinations during 2002, 27% occurred because of case-related
reasons, mostly due to weak evidence (23%); 20% occurred because
there was no crime or criminal intent was lacking; and 26% occurred
for other reasons, such as agency requests (9%) and lack of
resources (6%).

Not all suspects whose matters were declined by U.S. attorneys
avoided prosecution. Twenty-one percent of the suspects in matters
declined were referred to another authority for prosecution. An
additional 3% were settled through alternative resolution procedures.
Suspects involved in drug offenses constituted the largest number who
were referred by U.S. attorneys to other authorities for prosecution 
or resolution. Thirty-one percent of the drug suspects whose matters
were declined prosecution by U.S. attorneys were referred for other
prosecution or resolution, as were 26% of the immigration, 22% of
public-order, 22% of violent, 30% of weapon, and 20% of property
offense suspects.

Within major offense categories, the likelihood that suspects in 
matters declined for prosecution were referred to other authorities for
prosecution or alternative resolution varied among specific offenses. 
Within property offenses, referral occurred with 37% of persons
involved in counterfeiting, compared to 18% of suspects in fraud
cases. Within public-order offenses, 62% of escape suspects were
referred to other authorities or had their case settled through
alternative procedures, compared to 6% of suspects in civil rights
cases.

Processing times -- The average number of months from receipt of a
matter to its conclusion by a U.S. attorney as a case filing or
declination or its disposal by a U.S. magistrate was 9.2 months (a
median of 1.8 months). However, the time to process matters varied
with the outcome of the matter. U.S. attorneys took an average of 4.2
months to file charges in U.S. district court, but over half of the 
cases were filed within 1 month. Declinations took longer, with an 
average duration of almost 21 months, though half of the declinations 
occurred within 15 months.  

The processing time for matters disposed by U.S. magistrates also
differed by the outcome. Matters resulting in a conviction took an
average of 3.6 months to conclude, with half of the cases concluding
within 1.9 months. Matters that did not result in a conviction took
longer to conclude -- an average of 13.6 months, with half concluding
within 2.8 months.    

Processing times also varied with the type of offense involved.
Suspects involved in immigration offenses were processed most quickly, 
with an average case processing time of 1.8 months and a median time 
of less than 1 month. Matters involving weapon, drug, and violent 
offenses took longer to process (5.1 to 7.1 months, on average, and 
median times from 0.9 to 2.5 months), while public-order and property 
offense matters took the longest to conclude, with average times of 
12.7 and 15 months, and median times of 4.1 and 8.1 months, 
respectively.   
 
Chapter notes

1) Tables 2.1-2.6 were created from the Central System data files of
the EOUSA. For table 2.1, only records which showed a matter
received during 2002 were selected. For tables 2.2-2.6, only records
which show a matter terminated by reason of declination, disposition
by a U.S. magistrate, or filed as a case in U.S. district court from
October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002, were selected. In all of
these tables, matters "declined immediately" -- those cases in which
the U.S. attorney spent less than 1 hour investigating -- were excluded.

2) The number of suspects in matters investigated in table 2.1, and the
number of suspects in matters concluded in tables 2.2 and 2.6 are not
directly comparable to counts in the 1993 and prior compendia. In
those years, these statistics included appellants in appeals filed or
appeals terminated. In table 2.1 of this Compendium and its
corresponding tables in 1994 and subsequent compendia, the number
of suspects in matters received is limited to suspects in criminal
matters that were filed as cases in U.S. district courts, handled by 
U.S. magistrates, or declined for prosecution.  In the 1993 and prior
compendia, the number of suspects in criminal matters received
included criminal appeals. To obtain a number of suspects comparable 
to the statistic reported in the 1993 and prior compendia, add to the 
data in table 2.1 of this Compendium, the number of appellants in 
appeals that were handled by U.S. Attorneys.

In tables 2.2 and 2.6 of this Compendium and their corresponding
tables in the 1994 and subsequent compendia, the number of suspects 
in matters concluded also is limited to those suspects whose matters 
were concluded by a case filing in a U.S. district court, by
declination, or by disposition by a U.S. magistrate. In the 1993 and
prior compendia, this number included appellants in criminal appeals
terminated.

To obtain a number that is comparable to the number reported in the
1993 and prior compendia, the number of appellants in appeals
terminated and handled by U.S. attorneys needs to be added to the
totals in table 2.2.

3) Offenses in the Central System data files are classified by the 
title and section of the United States Code for the most serious offense
investigated, as determined by the assistant U.S. attorney responsible
for the matter. For tables in this Compendium, these citations were
translated into the corresponding four-digit offense codes used by the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts(AOUSC). These four-
digit codes were then aggregated into the categories shown in the
tables.

U.S. Code citations often do not permit detailed classification of drug
offenses by the type of criminal activity involved. A person charged
with conspiracy is classified under the substantive offense alleged 
(for example, conspiracy to defraud is classified as fraud) unless type 
of conspiracy cannot be determined from the U.S. Code citation.
Unclassified conspiracies are included among "conspiracy, aiding and
abetting, traffic, and jurisdictional offenses."

The most serious offense investigated is based on the criminal lead
charge as determined by the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for
the criminal matter.

4) In the tables in this chapter, the "all offenses" row or "total
declinations" row includes records whose offense category (basis for
declination)is missing or indeterminable. The percentage distributions
in these tables, however, are based on the number of observations
with nonmissing offenses (basis for declination) values. The number of
missing values are reported either on a separate line or in a footnote.

5)  Additional data for "lack of resources" as a reason for
declination were discovered in 1999; these cases previously were
coded as "unknown or indeterminate" in 1998 and prior years. Therefore, 
in table 2.4, the apparent increase in "lack of resources" as a 
declination reason (between 1998 and future years) is due in large
part to this additional information and reclassification of declination
reasons from "unknown and indeterminate."

Chapter 3
                                          
Pretrial release

The Bail Reform Act of 1984 (18 U.S.C. sec. 3141) sets the terms for
release and detention of defendants facing charges in Federal courts.
At the time defendants first appear before a judicial officer, they may
be (1) released on personal recognizance or unsecured bond; (2)
released subject to conditions imposed by the court, possibly including
traditional bail; (3) temporarily detained without bail (limited to 10
working days) to permit deportation, exclusion, or the revocation of
previously granted conditional release; or (4) detained pending the
outcome of a detention hearing.***18 U.S.C. sec. 3142(e) (1984)***

According to the statute, a defendant must be brought before a judicial
officer without "unnecessary delay" upon arrest for an "initial
appearance". The judicial officer, who may be a judge, but is generally
a U.S. magistrate, determines whether the defendant will be released
or detained prior to trial.  If a hearing is required, the release 
decision may be delayed no longer than 3 days (or 5 days if requested by 
the defendant).

The recommendation to detain the defendant is made by the U.S. attorney 
and/or the pretrial services officer. If the court concurs with the
recommendation to detain the defendant, a pretrial detention hearing is 
held to show cause why the defendant should be detained pending 
adjudication of the charges.

According to the Bail Reform Act of 1984, preventive detention is
applicable in instances where the defendant was charged with (1) a
crime of violence, (2) an offense with a statutory maximum sentence
of life imprisonment or death, (3) a drug offense with a statutory
maximum sentence of 10 years or more imprisonment, or (4) any
felony offense if the defendant had been convicted on two or more
occasions of an offense described above or a similar State-level
offense.

A detention recommendation may be made if there is a serious risk
that the defendant would flee in an attempt to avoid prosecution or
would obstruct justice or intimidate witnesses or jurors.

Types of pretrial release
Defendants may be released without financial conditions according to the
following:

Personal recognizance -- defendant is released subject to no financial 
or other conditions.

Unsecured bond -- no money is required to be posted before release, but
defendant is liable for full bail amount if he or she fails to appear.

Conditional release -- any combination of restrictions that are
deemed necessary to guarantee the defendant's appearance at trial or
the safety of the community. Non-financial conditions commonly place
restrictions on the defendant's movements, associations, and/or
actions. They may also involve employment or treatment for medical,
psychological, or substance abuse conditions.

Defendants may also be released on financial conditions. Financial
conditions include: (1) deposit bond (the defendant is required to 
post a percentage of the total bail amount, usually 10%),(2)surety 
bond (the defendant is released subject to guarantees by a third person 
that the full amount will be paid), or (3) collateral bond (collateral 
equal to the full bail amount required to be posted by the defendant 
before release). Financial conditions may occur in combination with
nonfinancial conditions.

Factors relating to release or detention

In deciding whether to release a defendant and in setting release
conditions, the court is directed to consider the nature and
circumstances of the offense charges, the weight of evidence against
the defendant, the defendant's character, physical and mental
condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of
residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history
relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and record
concerning appearance at court proceedings.  These factors are
considered at an initial hearing where the defendant may be released,
detained, held for a detention hearing, or the case may be continued
or dismissed. At the detention hearing, a defendant may be released,
given preventive detention, temporarily detained, detained with no bail
set or made, or the case may be continued, dismissed, or transferred.

Of the 78,060 defendants whose cases commenced in 2002, 37% (or 28,993) 
were released after either an intitial hearing or a detention hearing, 
and 62% of defendants were detained.

Of the 71,572 defendants who terminated pretrial services during 2002, 
45% (32,140) were released for some period of time prior to trial. Of 
those released defendants, 81% completed pretrial services without 
violating the conditions of their release. 

In 2002, 73% (52,515) of defendants terminating pretrial services were
detained for some period of time prior to the disposition of their case.
This includes those who were detained prior to having a preliminary
hearing with the magistrate, at which point they could have been either
released or ordered to have a detention hearing. Of the defendants
detained, 54% were ordered detained by the court until case disposition.

Pretrial detention hearings were held for 38,764 defendants. Of these,
28,301, or 73%, were ordered detained.

Of the 32,140 defendants released prior to trial, 20% violated a condition 
of their release. The  majority (92%) of these violations were technical
violations of the bail conditions. Defendants released on deposit bond were
more likely (28%) than other defendants to incur some violation of the
conditions of their release. Conversely, defendants given conditional 
release violated their release at the lowest rates (less than 1%). Eight
percent of all released defendants had their release revoked.

Those charged with violent offenses were detained longer on average
(112 days) than defendants charged with other offenses (not shown in
a table). Defendants who were never released and were detained by
the court were detained longer than were defendants detained for
financial conditions (111 days)

Outcomes for pretrial cases commenced 

Releases and detentions after the first 2 hearings -- Of the 78,060
cases commenced in 2002, 37% were released after either an initial
hearing or a detention hearing, 62% were detained, and less than 1%
were dismissed. Seventy-six percent of defendants receiving pretrial
release were released after an initial hearing; 73% of detained
defendants were detained after a detention hearing. After these two
hearings, less than 1% of incoming defendants (279) were awaiting a
release decision (not shown in a table).  

Of those charged with property offenses, 73% were released, as were
63% of those charged with public-order offenses, 37% of weapon
offense defendants, 31% of drug offense defendants, and 28% of
violent offense defendants. Only 5% of those charged with immigration
offenses were released after these two hearings.  

Outcomes for pretrial cases terminated

Releases -- Of cases terminated in 2002, 45% were released. The
percent released varied greatly across and within offense categories.
Seventy-nine percent of property offenders were released, compared
with only 9% of immigration offenders. Among violent offenders, 22%
of those charged with robbery were released compared to 55% of those 
charged with sexual abuse and 62% of those charged with assault. Among
public-order defendants, 11% of those charged with an escape offense 
were released compared to 96% of those charged with tax law violations, 
92% of traffic defendants, and 69% of nonviolent sex offense defendants.
Forty-three percent of those charged with weapon offenses were released, 
while only 9% of immigration defendants were released. 

Forty-one percent of all drug defendants were released. Drug
trafficking defendants were less likely to be released than those
charged with nontrafficking offenses (40% compared to 56%).

How defendants were released prior to trial varied among offense
categories. Within each major offense category except for violent and
immigration offenses, the highest percentage of defendants released
was through unsecured bond. Thirty-five percent of violent defendants
were released of whom 34% were released on unsecured bond and 48% on 
personal recognizance -- compared to 79% of all property defendants 
released, of whom 55% were released on unsecured bond and 33% on 
personal recognizance.

Detentions -- Among the major offense categories, defendants charged with
immigration, drug, or violent offenses were the most likely (98, 84% and 
82% respectively) to be detained for some period of time. However, violent
defendants were more likely than immigration or drug defendants to be
detained by the court (64% versus 59% and 53%). Of those charged with
weapons offenses, 78% were detained, with 57% being detained by the court.
Public-order and property and defendants were less likely to be detained 
than were other defendants. During 2002, 44% of public-order defendants 
were detained, with 47% of these detained by the court. Forty percent of
defendants charged with property offenses were detained, with 42% of these
detained by the court.  

Seventy percent of defendants charged with violent offenses had a
detention hearing. This rate varied by offense category: 65% of drug 
or immigration defendants, 62% of weapons defendants, 31% of those
charged with public-order offenses, and 29% of those charged with
property offenses were ordered to have a detention hearing.  

Once a defendant was ordered to have a detention hearing, the chances of 
being detained were less variable across offense categories. The highest 
rate of defendants ordered detained were those charged with immigration
offenses (88%). Of the 70% of defendants charged with violent offenses 
and given a pretrial detention hearing, 75% were ordered detained. In 
2002, 72% of those charged with weapon offenses, 69% of drug offenses, 
65% of public-order offenses, and 59% of property offenses were ordered
detained following a pretrial hearing.

Violations -- Of released defendants terminating pretrial services during
2002, those charged with weapon or drug offenses were more likely than
other defendants (31% and 30% compared with 20% overall) to incur at 
least one violation during the release period. Among other major offense
categories, those charged with public-order offenses were least likely 
(8%)than others to violate conditions of their release. Those charged with
weapon, violent, or drug offenses were more likely than others to have 
their release revoked (13% of all released weapon defendants, 12% of 
released violent defendants, and 11% of drug defendants compared with 8%
overall). Five percent of released property defendants and released
immigration defendants were revoked.

Of the 32,140 defendants released, those on deposit bond were more likely
(28%) than other defendants (20% overall) to incur a violation of the
conditions of their release.  Defendants with the lowest rate of release
violations were those given conditional release (1%). This group was also 
the least likely to have a release revocation. Only 0.2% of defendants on
conditional release who committed a violation were revoked.

Pretrial outcomes across demographic 
groups

Releases -- Females were more likely (72%) than males (40%) to be released
during 2002. Males were more likely to have a financial condition imposed 
on them than females (21% versus 13%). Sixty-two percent of all defendants
identified as non-Hispanic were released during 2002 compared to 21% of
Hispanics. Non-Hispanic releasees were twice as likely as Hispanics to be
released on personal recognizance.  Sixty-four percent of Native Americans 
and 59% of Asian defendants were released compared with 50% of black
defendants and 42% of white defendants.

The higher the education level of the defendant, the greater the probability
of release. Thirty-nine percent of defendants with less than a high school
education were released in 2002, while 79% of those who had completed
college were released. Releasees with a college degree, when compared to
those with less education, were less likely to receive financial conditions
(16% versus 26%) and more likely to be released on personal recognizance
(30% versus 25%) than those who had less education.

Defendants with a history of drug abuse were released less frequently
than those defendants with no known drug history (50% versus 59%).
However, among all released defendants, drug abuse history does not
appear to have had a major effect on the form of pretrial release.

Detentions -- Males were more likely (78% versus 52%) than females
to be detained. Of all detainees, 75% of the men and 56% of the
women were detained following a detention hearing. Hispanics had a
substantially higher probability of being detained (93%) compared with
non-Hispanics (60%). Almost all of those charged with an immigration
offense (98%) -- of which non-citizen Hispanics comprise the majority --
were detained. Younger defendants were more likely than older ones
to be detained. Seventy-five percent of defendants between ages 16
and 18 and 74% of defendants ages 19-20 were detained, compared
to 60% of those over 40. However, among all defendants detained, the
chances of being detained following a detention hearing were similar
across all age groups.  

Not only were male defendants more  likely than female defendants to
have a detention hearing (58% versus 36%), they were also more likely 
(75% versus 56%) to be ordered detained as a result of the hearing.  

The likelihood of having a detention hearing increased with the number
of prior convictions and severity of the defendant's criminal history.
Furthermore, 58% of those with a history of drug abuse had detention
hearings as compared to 44% of those without such a past. However,
those with a history of drug abuse were as likely to be detained after 
a hearing.

Violations -- Released males were more likely than females to incur a
violation during the pretrial release period (21% versus 16%) and were
slightly more likely to have their release revoked. Native Americans
were more likely to incur at least one violation than blacks, whites, 
or Asians (29% versus 22% for blacks, 19% for whites, and 13% for
Asians). Native American defendants also were more likely to have
their release revoked (17% versus 8% for blacks, 7% for whites, and
5% for Asians). 

Defendants without a high school diploma were more likely to have at
least one violation than defendants with college degrees (28% versus
8%).

Defendants with no prior criminal history were 2 times less likely to
have a pretrial release violation than those with a prior conviction. 
Released defendants with a known drug history were almost 3 times
more likely to incur a violation than those with no known drug history
and to have their release revoked (15% versus 4%).

Length of pretrial detention

Among defendants detained for any time prior to case disposition, those
charged with violent offenses were detained the longest (an average of 
112 days) compared to drug (83 days), weapon (81 days), immigration (64 
days), public-order (60 days), or property (46 days), defendants (not 
shown in a table).

Of defendants released, those released conditionally spent the greatest
average number of days detained (61 days) compared to those released on
personal recognizance (43 days), unsecured bond (34 days), or financial
conditions (29 days). This trend varied only slightly across all major 
offense categories -- in general, defendants released by conditional 
means were detained more days than defendants who were released by any 
other means.

Of defendants not released, those detained by the court were detained
longer, on average, than those held on financial conditions (111 days
compared with 79 days). This pattern was true across all major offense 
types. 
 
Chapter notes
 
1) All tables in chapter 3 were created from data in the Pretrial
Services Information Act System data base, which is maintained by
the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) within the AOUSC. The data
describe pretrial defendants processed by Federal pretrial service
agencies within each district. Defendants who received pretrial
services through a local, non-Federal agency, such as the District of
Columbia, are not included. The data describe 78,060 defendants whose 
cases commenced and 71,572 defendants who terminated pretrial services 
during October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002, and whose cases 
were filed by complaint, indictment, or information. In these tables, 
the totals ("all offenses") ncluded records whose offense or other 
attributes were missing or indeterminable. The percentage 
distributions were based on non-missing values, and missing values
were reported in a separate row or in a footnote.
 
Offenses in the PSA are based on the most serious charged offense,
as determined by the probation officer responsible for the interview
with the defendant. The probation officer classifies the major offense
charged into AOUSC four-digit offense codes. For defendants charged
with more than one offense on an indictment, the probation officer
chooses as the major charged offense the one carrying the most
severe penalty or, in the case of two or more charges carrying the
same penalty, the one with the highest offense severity. The offense
severity level is determined by the AOUSC, which ranks offenses
according to the maximum sentence, type of crime, and maximum fine
amount. These four-digit codes are then aggregated into the same
offense categories as those used in chapter 2.

For drug offenses, the type of drug activity -- trafficking or 
possession   is obtained by the probation officers from their reading 
of the indictment or other charging documents. The AOUSC citation 
manual provides probation officers with detailed instructions on how 
to code drug crimes.

2) In tables 3.1-3.5, the percentages showing the methods of release
or methods of detention were based on the number of defendants
released or the number of defendants detained. In tables 3.6 and 3.7,
the percentages were based on the number of defendants who had
hearings and were ordered detained. This method departs from the
1993 and prior compendia, in which the percentages were based on
the number of defendants terminating pretrial services.

Chapter 4

Adjudication

Federal criminal cases may result in conviction of the defendant following
plea or trial, acquittal of the defendants after trial, or dismissal of the
case.***Footnote 1: Unless otherwise noted, data describe felony and
misdemeanor cases in U.S. district courts and include Class A misdemeanors
handled by U.S. magistrates.  The data also include Class B misdemeanors 
that are handled by U.S. district court judges, which occur infrequently.***

Defendants in criminal cases commenced

During 2002, 87,727 defendants had criminal cases commenced against them in
U.S. district courts, and 76,163 (87%) of those defendants were charged with
felonies.  The 30,673 drug felony defendants comprised 35% of all criminal
defendants in cases commenced and 40% of all felony defendants. Felony
property and immigration defendants comprised 18% and 15%, respectively, 
of all defendants in cases commenced. The 11,493 misdemeanor defendants
constituted 13% of all defendants in cases commenced; 45% of those 
misdemeanor defendants were charged with traffic violations.

Defendants in criminal cases terminated

Cases were terminated against 80,424 defendants during 2002,70,225 (87%) 
of whom were felony defendants. During 2002 the 29,300 drug-related felony
defendants comprised 36% of all defendants in cases terminated and 42% of 
all felony defendants.

Eighty-nine percent of all defendants, 92% of all felony defendants and
71% of misdemeanor defendants were convicted. Conviction rates for
major felony offense categories were in the 87% to 95% range. Within
major offense categories, however, the conviction rates varied more
widely. For example, within the public-order category, the conviction
rate ranged from 51% for national defense violations to 69% for postal
law violations to 96% for tax law violations.

Most defendants who were convicted pleaded guilty. Overall, almost
96% of those convicted pleaded guilty, while only 4% were convicted
at trial. For felony offenses, 96% pleaded guilty to their charges. 
For the major felony offense categories, guilty pleas were registered 
for 99% of immigration offenders, 96% for each of drug and property
offender, 94% and 93% for public order and violent offenders,
respectively, and 93% of weapon offenders.

During 2002, only 4% (3,500) of the 80,424 defendants in cases terminated
exercised their right to a trial.  Eight percent of weapon offenders went 
to trial as compared with 7% of violent offenders, 6% of public order
offenders, 4% each of property and drug offenders, and 1% of immigration
offenders. 

Of defendants who exercised their right to a trial, 2,726 (78%) were
convicted either by a jury or a bench trial. The felony trial conviction
rate was 82%, while the misdemeanor conviction rate was 56%. Among felony
offenses, trial conviction rates ranged from 78% for public-order 
defendants to 88% for immigration defendants.  

Case processing times

The data in table 4.3 cover the interval from the time a case is filed in
U.S. district court through sentencing for those convicted as well as
the interval from case filing through disposition for those not convicted,
or those whose cases are dismissed. Title I of the Speedy Trial Act of
1974, as amended, sets time requirements for processing criminal cases in
Federal courts. Except for certain exclusions, indictment must occur 
within 30 days of arrest; defendants are guaranteed at least 30 days to
prepare for trial; and the Government must be ready for trial within 70 
days. The Speedy Trial Act does not specify an interval from trial to
sentencing,***Footnote 2:  2The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984
specifies minimum intervals for the disclosure and objections to the
presentence report. (See rule 31, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.)*** 
and the time limits set by the act exclude several enumerated periods of
pretrial procedure such as time spent awaiting rulings on motions.
***Footnote 3: 18 U.S.C. 3161 et. Seq.*** Additionally, defendants may 
waive their rights within the Speedy Trial Act. As a result, the actual
processing time for most defendants can be longer than the statutory 
limits without violating the provisions of the act.

Overall, the average time for processing defendants was 9.5 months.
For felony defendants, the overall processing time average was 10.2
months; for those charged with misdemeanor crimes, the average
processing time was 4.6 months. Defendants who pleaded guilty were
processed, on average, 5.0 months quicker than defendants who went
to trial. Overall, defendants whose cases went to trial took the longest
to process (13.8 months), on average.  Among major felony offense
categories, case processing times were similar to the overall pattern,
except when comparing the time until dismissal to the time of trial.
Defendants convicted of public-order and drug offenses took a greater
amount of time for dismissal (19.6 and 20.3 months, respectively) on
average, than for trial (17.9 and 17.5 months, respectively).

Convictions by U.S. Magistrates 

During 2002 U.S. magistrates disposed of 10,045 misdemeanor criminal
defendants, 71% of whom were convicted. Public-order offenders 
comprised nearly 55% of the defendants disposed by U.S. magistrates, 
with property offenders comprising another 22%. Drug offenses comprised 
a little over 14% of U.S. magistrates' cases. 

Characteristics of convicted defendants

Among defendants convicted, there were 6 times as many men as women 
(86% versus 14%); over twice as many whites as blacks(70% versus 26%); 
and 1 times as many non-Hispanics as Hispanics (60% versus 40%). 
Most were U.S. citizens (66%), had graduated high school or completed 
some higher education (54%), and had some criminal history (60%). 
Persons over the age of 30 represented 56% of defendants.

Chapter notes

1) Tables 4.1-4.4 were derived from the Administrative Office of U.S.
Courts (AOUSC) criminal master data files.  Only records with cases
filed in U.S. district court (table 4.1) or cases that terminated in 
U.S. district court during October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002,
were selected. Offenses were classified according to the most serious
offense charged. In the case of multiple offenses, the offense carrying
the most severe potential penalty was selected.

In this Compendium, carjacking offenses are classified as robberies,
based on title and section of the U.S. Code. In compendia prior to the
1997 Compendium, they were classified as motor vehicle thefts, based
on the AOUSC offense classifications.

2) Table 4.5 was created by matching the AOUSC master data files
with the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) monitoring system files
and the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) data files.  These latter two
data files contain information on the characteristics of defendants. 
The USSC monitoring system files are limited to records of defendants
sentenced under the Federal sentencing guidelines only.  These
include defendants convicted of felonies or Class A misdemeanors. 
Excluded from the USSC data were defendants convicted only of
Class B or C misdemeanors or infractions, defendants whose offenses
were committed before November 1, 1987, and juvenile offenders. 
Juveniles charged as adults are included in table 4.5.  Some of the
defendants excluded from the USSC data files were included in the
PSA data. (See Chapter 3 Chapter notes for more information on the
PSA data.) Table 4.5 indicates the number of records for which
relevant data were available.  Percentage distributions were based on
records with known values of defendant characteristics.
 
3) A criminal record, as reported in table 4.5,is limited to prior adult
convictions.  For some defendants in this table, it is further limited to
the portion that is relevant for calculating sentences under the Federal
sentencing guidelines. In general, this is limited to sentences imposed
within a 15-year period prior to the current offense and offenses
committed within the United States.  For most defendants, the criminal
history used to calculate sentencing guideline ranges includes their
entire adult criminal history.
 
Chapter 5

Sentencing 

Depending upon the type and severity of the offense, convicted
offenders may be sentenced to incarceration, probation, a fine, or 
a combination of sanctions such as a split or mixed sentence
(imprisonment as well as a period of probation supervision). (For a
definition of mixed sentences, see Glossary, p. 113.) The Federal
sentencing guidelines require a term of supervised release following
service of any prison sentence of more than 1 year. In addition, courts
have the discretion to impose supervised release in any other case.

Except where otherwise indicated, tables in this chapter are based on
the most serious offense of conviction. They are not directly
comparable with tables in earlier chapters that are based on the most
serious offense investigated or most serious offense charged. (See
"Offense classifications" in Methodology, p. 109.)

Offenders convicted and sentences imposed

Of the 71,798 offenders sentenced during 2002, 53,682 (75%) were
sentenced to prison; 12,190 (17%) were sentenced to probation
***Footnote 1: Offenders given an intermediate sanction such
as intermittent confinement or community confinement that also
included probation supervision are counted among offenders given
probation.***; and 2,897 (4%) were ordered to pay only a fine.  
During 2002, 52,246 defendants convicted of felonies were sentenced 
to prison representing 97% of all prison sentences and 83% of all
convicted felons. Felony drug, violent, weapon, and immigration
offenders were more likely to receive prison sentences (91%, 93%,
92%, and 89% respectively) than were property (59%) or public-order
(66%) offenders.  

Among public-order offenders, persons convicted of nonviolent sex
offenses (91%) and escape (90%) were almost as likely to receive
prisons sentences as were violent, drug, weapon, and immigration
offenders.

Among property offenders, persons convicted of arson or the use of
explosives (76%) were the most likely to receive prison sentences.

Overall, 17 % of convicted offenders were sentenced to probation. The
percentage of misdemeanants sentenced to probation (47%) was nearly 4 
times that of convicted felons (13%).

Persons convicted of food and drug offenses were the most likely to
receive probation (78%), followed by persons convicted of postal law
violations and larceny misdemeanors (74%).

While 4% of all convicted felons were ordered to only pay a fine, 30%
of the felons convicted of antitrust violations were so ordered. Fines
were generally reserved for misdemeanor offenders, 31% of whom received 
fines.  

Average prison sentencesimposed

For all offenders sentenced to prison terms, the average term of
imprisonment imposed was 57.1 months. Persons convicted of felonies 
received an average of 58.4 months.

The average length of prison sentence length imposed varied among
major felony offense categories. Property offenders received the
shortest sentence, on average, while violent offenders received the
longest (25.0 months compared to 88.5 months). Weapon offenders
received an average prison term of 83.9 months, and drug offenders
received 76.0 months. Lesser terms were administered for public-order
offenders receiving 38.5 months, on average, and immigration offenders
receiving an average prison term of 27.9 months. The average sentence 
length for violent offenses (58.4 months) was almost 6 times longer 
than average sentence length for misdemeanor offenses (9.8 months).  

Relationship between sentence imposed and mode 
of conviction

During 2002, offenders convicted by trial were more likely to receive
prison sentences than those who pleaded guilty. Seventy-four percent
of the offenders convicted by guilty plea received some prison time,
while 87% of offenders convicted at trial received prison sentences.

For violent offenders, 93% of those convicted by plea received prison
sentences, as did 97% of those convicted at trial. For property
offenders, 58% of those convicted by plea received prison sentences,
compared to 86% of those convicted at trial. For public-order
offenders, 65% of those convicted by plea, as contrasted with 90% of
those convicted at trial, went to prison.

The average prison term imposed on defendants convicted at trial was
longer than the term imposed on defendants convicted by plea.
Defendants convicted at trial received 144.4 months, on average (a
median of 84 months), while those convicted by plea received an
average of 53.3 months (a median of 33 months). Drug offenders
convicted at trial received an average of 195.8 months as compared to
71.4 months for drug offenders convicted by a guilty plea. Violent
offenders who went to trial received an average sentence of 204.4
months as compared to the 81.3 months for those convicted by guilty
plea. Those convicted at trial for weapon offenses received, on
average, 188.5 months, compared to the 75.4 months for weapon
offenders convicted by guilty plea.

Characteristics of offenders sentenced to prison

The majority of persons convicted during 2002 were male (86%), white
(70%), non-Hispanic (60%), and U.S. citizens (66%). The percentage
sentenced to prison was not uniform across all categories of age, race,
sex, education, and ethnicity. Similarly, the average sentences
imposed were not uniform across these categories. However, conclusions 
about the effect that characteristics may have had on sentencing cannot 
be drawn from the aggregate patterns in the data. Such an assessment 
would require detailed information for each category showing the 
presence or absence of factors that are legally intended to affect 
sentencing, such as offense severity, weapon use, role in the offense, 
victim injury, dollar loss, and so forth.

One such study of the factors affecting sentencing found that "nearly
all of the aggregate differences among sentences for whites, blacks,
and Hispanics during 1989-90 can be attributed to characteristics of
offenses and offenders that current law and sentencing guidelines
establish as legitimate considerations in sentencing decisions."
***Footnote 2: Douglas C. McDonald and Kenneth E. Carlson, Sentencing 
in the Federal Courts: Does Race Matter? Washington, DC: U.S. Department 
of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, December 1993 (NCJ 145328), 
p. 1.***

Average sentences imposed were longest for males (59.2 months), blacks 
(84.5 months), non-Hispanics (67.2 months), and U.S. citizens (66.9 
months). These  categories of offenders (males, blacks, non-Hispanics, 
and U.S. citizens) are also more highly concentrated in the offense 
types associated with longer average sentences. In general, average 
prison terms were longer for violent, drug and weapon offenses than 
for property, public-order and immigration offenses. These three 
offense categories (violent, drug, and weapons)are generally considered 
to be more serious under the Federal sentencing guidelines than are 
property and public-order offenses. 

Chapter notes

1) Tables 5.1-5.3 were generated from the AOUSC criminal master
data files. Only records of defendants sentenced between October 1,
2001 and September 30, 2002 were selected. Offenses shown in these 
tables -- offenses of conviction -- are based on the longest actual 
sentence imposed.

2) Tables 5.4-5.6 were generated from AOUSC criminal master data
files supplemented with linked data on offender characteristics from
two sources: The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC)
monitoring system files (which are limited to records of defendants
sentenced under the Federal sentencing guidelines); and the Pretrial
Services Information Act System database, maintained by the Pretrial
Services Agency (PSA). These two supplemental data files contain
information on the characteristics of offenders. Table 5.4 indicates 
the number of records for which relevant data were available. Percent
distributions were based on records with known values of defendant
characteristics and offenses. Means and medians in tables 5.5 and
5.6 were based on the number of records shown in table 5.4
 
3) Criminal record, as reported in tables 5.4-5.6, is limited to prior 
adult convictions.  For some defendants in these tables, it is further 
limited to the portion of their criminal record that is relevant for
calculating sentences under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In 
general, this is limited to sentences imposed within 15 years of the 
current offense and sentences for offenses committed within the United 
States. For most defendants, the criminal history used to calculate 
sentencing guideline ranges is the same as their adult criminal history.

Chapter 6

Appeals 

Prior to implementation of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, only
criminal convictions could be appealed. However, the Sentencing
Reform Act provided for the appellate review of sentences imposed
given that the sentence was (1) imposed in violation of the law; (2)
imposed as the result of an incorrect sentencing guideline application;
(3) outside the recommended guideline sentencing range; or(4)imposed 
for an offense for which no sentencing guideline exists and is plainly
unreasonable. Both the defendant and the Government have the right to 
appeal an imposed sentence.***18 U.S.C. Sec.3742***

Appeals filed

During 2002 the U.S. Court of Appeals received 11,569 criminal appeals, 
a small increase (up 3% from 2001) when compared to that of 2000 to 
2001 (23%). Of all appeals, 4% were filed by the Government (not shown 
in a table). Almost 43% of all appeals filed (for which the offense is 
known) were for drug convictions. Appeals for property offense 
convictions comprised 16% of all appeals filed, immigration offenses 
comprised 15% as well, weapons offenses were 13%, and 6% of appeals 
filed were for violent offenses.

Eighty-four percent of all appeals filed in 2002 were guidelines-based
appeals. Sixteen percent of appeals filed were appeals of convictions
for crimes committed before 1987, when the sentencing guidelines
took effect. Forty-nine percent of all appeals challenged both the
conviction and the sentence imposed. Nearly 3 times as many appeals
challenged only the sentence imposed as those that challenged only
the conviction (26% versus 9%).  

The distribution of guideline-based appeals by type of appeal filed
(sentence, conviction, or both) was relatively constant across the
major offense categories underlying the appeal. However, 63% of
post-guideline appeals filed for immigration offenses appealed both
the conviction and the sentence, compared to 58% for all criminal
offense categories.

Appeals terminated

A total of 11,695 appeals terminated during 2002. Sixteen percent
were appeals of convictions for offenses sentenced under laws in
effect prior to the sentencing guidelines. The remaining 84% of
appeals terminated were guidelines-based appeals. Of these, 58%
were appeals of both the conviction and sentence, 11% were appeals
of the conviction only, and 31% were appeals of the sentence only.

In nearly half of all appeals terminated in 2002(for which the offense 
is known), drug offense convictions underlie the appeal (44%); the
underlying offense in 16% of the appeals was for a property offense;
14% were for an immigration offense; 12% were for weapon offense
appeals; and 6% were appeals for violent offense convictions.
Robbery offenses composed 54% and murder composed 17% of the
underlying offenses for appeals of a violent conviction. Sixty-eight
percent of property offense appeals were for fraud convictions.

Of the 11,695 appeals terminated during 2002, 75% were terminated
on the merits, while the remainder were terminated on procedural
grounds. An appeal terminated on the merits is an appeal that is
terminated based on the factors of the case, not because of technical
or procedural reasons. For appeals based on a conviction, 75% of
drug offenses and 69% of public-order offenses were terminated on
the merits. Also terminated on the merits were 81% of appeals based
on a weapon conviction, 78% of appeals based on an immigration or a
violent conviction, and 74% of appeals based on a property conviction.
Within these major offense categories, 66% of appeals based on
murder convictions were terminated on the merits, as were 82% of
robbery convictions, and 74% of fraud convictions.

In 79% of appeals terminated on the merits, the district court ruling
was affirmed. In another 4% it was partially affirmed. Among appeals
terminated on merits, 81% of all drug and weapon appeals were affirmed, 
75% of all immigration and public order appeals were affirmed, as were 
76% of violent offense appeals.

District court decisions were reversed or remanded back to the court 
in 8% of the cases. Property and public order offenses had the highest
rate of reversal or being remanded back to the court(11% and 13%).
Nine percent of weapon offense appeals were reversed or remanded,
as were 8% of violent offense appeals. Less than 8% of appeals were
reversed or remanded for drug or immigration offenses.

Overall, appeals were dismissed in 8% of cases. Among major offense
categories, the highest dismissal rate was for immigration offenses
(16%), an increase of 8 percentage points from fiscal year 2001 
when only 8% of immigration appeals were dismissed.

Chapter notes

Tables in chapter 6 were created from the AOUSC appeals database.
Records of appeals filed or terminated during October 1, 2001,
through September 30, 2002, were selected. Data include records of
11,569 criminal appeals filed during fiscal year 2002 and 11,695
appeals terminated during the same period.

The unit of analysis in the appeals data is a single case. Most records
in the appeals data report on a single appellant. Appeals were
classified into the offense categories that represent the underlying
offense of conviction.  Offenses represent the statutory offense
charged against a defendant in a criminal appeal. Offenses were
classified by the AOUSC into their four-digit offense codes. These
were then aggregated into the offense categories shown in the tables.

Chapter 7

Corrections 

Federal offenders under supervision

As of the end of fiscal year 2002, there were 107,367 offenders under
active Federal supervision, of which most (91%) were felons. Seventy-
two percent of these offenders received one of two forms of post-
incarceration supervision: supervised release (73,229) or parole
(3,561). The remainder (30,577) were under probation supervision.
Most of the probationer population had been convicted of either a
property felony (38%) or some type of misdemeanor offense (31%).
Fifty-four percent of offenders under supervised release and 45% of
parolees had been convicted of a drug offense.

Among the 107,367 offenders under active Federal supervision at the
end of fiscal year 2002, 78% were male; 63% were white; 81% were of
non-Hispanic origin; 37% were over age 40 (compared to 31% who
were between 31 and 40 years of age and 32% who were 30 or
younger); 37% had a high school diploma only (compared to 31% who
had at least some college and 33% who had less than a high school
diploma); and 61% had no known drug history.  

Outcomes of offenders terminating supervision

Probation  -- During 2002, 15,116 offenders concluded one or more
terms of active probation. Overall, 80% of offenders successfully
completed their term of probation, another 18% violated their
conditions of probation, and the remaining 2% were administrative
closures. Of offenders terminating probation, about 7% committed a
new crime. Most committed technical violations, including drug use
(4%) or absconding (3%).

Offenders convicted of violent offenses were less likely than others to
successfully complete a term of probation without a violation. During
2002, 32% of probationers convicted of violent offenses violated their
conditions of probation, as did 29% of weapon, 22% of drug,  21% of
immigration, and 16% of property offenders. Violent and weapon
probationers were also more likely to commit new crimes (12%) than
were probationers convicted of weapon (10%), drug (7%), or property
(5%) offenses. 

Supervised release -- During 2002, 27,678 offenders concluded terms of
supervised release.  Overall, 62% of them successfully completed their 
term of supervised release; 23% committed technical violations, such as 
drug use (8%) or absconding (5%); and 13% of these offenders violated 
their supervision by committing a new crime. The remaining 2% had their
supervision administratively terminated.

Immigration offenders were less likely than others to complete a term
of supervised release without a violation. Sixty-four percent of
immigration offenders violated conditions of supervised release, while
48% of weapon, 33% of drug, and 29% of property offenders violated
supervised release. Immigration offenders were also more likely to
commit new crimes (38%) than offenders convicted of violent (17%),
weapon (17%), drug (12%), or property (10%) offenses.

Parole -- During 2002, 1,817 offenders concluded terms of parole. 
Overall, 58% of these offenders successfully completed their term of 
parole. Thirteen percent of these parolees violated their supervision 
by committing a new crime; 23% committed technical violations, such as
drug use (9%) or absconding (5%); and 7% completed their parole term 
through an administrative case closure.

Offenders convicted of violent offenses were less likely than others to
complete a term of parole without a violation. Forty-nine percent of
violent offenders violated conditions of parole, while 34% of public
order and property, and 26% of drug offenders violated parole. Violent
and property offenders were also more likely to commit new crimes (16%) 
than offenders convicted of drug or public order(10%)offenses.

Characteristics of offenders terminating 
supervision

Probation -- Among offenders whose term of probation was concluded, 72% 
were male; 67% were white and 84% were of non-Hispanic origin; 35% were 
less than age 31 (compared to 39% over age 40); 26% had less than a high
school diploma (compared to 38% whose highest education was a high school
diploma and 37% who had at least some college education); and 79% had no 
known drug history.

Younger offenders, those with a history of drug abuse, and those with
a lower educational background had higher probabilities of violating
the conditions of probation. Offenders ages 16 to 20 were more likely
(42%) to violate conditions of supervision than probationers in other
age groups -- 26% of those ages 21 to 30 and 14% of those over age 30. 

Probationers with a history of drug abuse were 5 times more likely to
violate probation for drug use than offenders who were not drug abusers. 
Probationers with known histories of drug abuse were also more likely 
to violate supervision for other reasons (fugitive status or new crimes) 
than were other probationers.

Probationers with lower levels of education were more likely to violate
the conditions of probation than those with higher levels of education.
Those who did not graduate high school had a 28% violation rate, those 
whose highest education was a high school diploma had a 18% violation 
rate, those with some college had a 12% violation rate, and those with 
a college degree had only a 7% violation rate.

Supervised release -- Among those who concluded a term of supervised 
release, 84% were male; 63% were white; 79% were of non-Hispanic origin;
26% were less than age 31 (40% were over age 40); 39% had only some 
high school (35% whose highest education was a high school diploma and 
26% had at least some college); and 54% had no known drug history.

Younger offenders, those with a history of drug abuse, and those with
a lower educational background had higher probabilities of violating
the conditions of supervised release. Offenders under age 30 were
more likely to violate conditions of supervision than offenders in other
age groups -- 54% of those under age 31 violated a condition of their
supervision compared to 22% of those over age 40.

Releasees with a history of drug abuse were nearly 4 times more likely
to terminate their supervision for technical violations of drug use as
were releasees who were not drug abusers. Releasees with known histories 
of drug abuse were also more likely to violate supervision with technical
violations or new crimes.

Similarly, releasees with lower levels of education were more likely to
violate conditions of supervised release than those with higher levels
of education. Those who did not graduate from high school had a 45%
violation rate, those whose highest education was a high school
diploma had a 35% violation rate, those with some college had a 25%
violation rate, and those with a college degree had a 11% violation
rate.

Parole -- Among those who concluded a term of parole, 97% were male; 59% 
were white; 87% were of non-Hispanic origin; 82% were over age 40; 46% 
had only some high school (35% whose highest education was a high school
diploma and 18% had at least some college); and 53% had no known drug 
history.

Offenders with a history of drug abuse and those with a lower educational
background had higher probabilities of violating the conditions of parole.
Releasees with a history of drug abuse were 3 times more likely to 
terminate their supervision for technical violations of drug use than were
releasees who were not drug abusers. Releasees with known histories of 
drug abuse were also more likely to violate supervision with technical
violations or new crimes.

Releasees with lower levels of education were usually more likely to
violate conditions of parole than those with higher levels of education.
Those whose highest education was a high school diploma had a 38%
violation rate, those who did not graduate from high school had a 39%
violation rate, those with some college had a 26% violation rate, and
those with a college degree had a 17% violation rate.

Admissions, releases, and standing population 
of Federal prisoners

The Federal prison population grew by 7,045 persons during fiscal
year 2002, increasing from 135,986 sentenced prisoners to
143,031.***Footnote 1: Tables 7.9-7.16 exclude prisoners sentenced
by a District of Columbia Superior Court judge for violations of the 
DC Criminal Code.***  The greatest growth was among drug, weapons,
and immigration offenders. In 2002 the number of drug offenders in
prison grew by 4,111, weapon offenders by 1,648, and immigration
offenders by 712.

Federal prisoners: First releases and time served 

During 2002, 44,339 prisoners were released from Federal prison for
the first time after serving a sentence imposed by a U.S. district
court.***Footnote 2: Tables 7.11-7.16 include only prisoners first
released by the BOP during 2002.***  Of these, 39,568 were released
by standard means. These standard releasees served an average of
31.6 months in prison -- 91% of the sentence imposed, on average.
***Footnote 3: Average time to first release is the number of
months in Bureau of Prisons facilities minus credits for time spent 
in jail prior to final disposition or sentencing. Percent of sentence 
served is the average percentage of each individual prisoner's percent 
of total sentence obligation served until first release.***   

The remaining 4,771 first releases were released by extraordinary
means: 3,563 were released early due to participation in a drug
treatment program; 324 were deported; and 884 were released for
other reasons -- including commutation, death, or completion of an
intensive confinement program. Drug offenders made up the majority
of those released by extraordinary means (84%).

Time served until first release varied by offense: Violent offenders
served an average of 58.8 months; drug offenders and weapons
offenders served an average of 42.9 months; the average number of
months served by immigration offenders was 19.2; and property
offenders served an average of 16.5 months. While violent, weapon,
and drug offenders served more time before first release, property,
immigration, and public-order offenders served more of their sentences 
than violent and drug offenders.

Old law offenders -- those who committed crimes before implementation 
of Federal Sentencing Guidelines in November 1987 -  that were released 
in 2002 are not shown separately in any table. Less than 1%, or 265, of 
all released offenders were old law offenders. New law offenders 
released during 2002 served, on average, 30.9 months in prison (91% of 
the sentence imposed). Since the Guidelines became effective as of 
November 1987, new law offenders sentenced to terms of imprisonment 
greater than 204 months could not have been released by standard means 
as of the end of fiscal year 2002.***Footnote 4: The Federal Sentencing
Guidelines allow a prisoner up to 54 days per year for good behavior, so 
a prisoner sentenced to 191 months in prison in November 1987 could have
served 166 months of his or her sentence and been released in 2001.*** 
They could have been released only for extraordinary reasons such as 
death, commutation, or treaty transfer.***Footnote 5: Prisoners released 
for extraordinary reasons have been excluded from all time served and 
percent of sentence served calculations.***

Characteristics of Federal prisoners

Standing population -- Of prisoners in Federal prison at the end of
2002, 93% were male, 58% were white, 39% were black, 32% were
Hispanic, and 72% were U.S. citizens. Fifty-five percent of the yearend
population were 31 years of age or older. This portrait of the Federal
prison population was similar across offenses, with a few exceptions.
Ninety-five percent of immigration offenders were white, 89% were
Hispanic and only 4% were U.S. citizens.  More than 92% of violent
offenders were non-Hispanic and U.S. Citizens. 

Prisoners released -- Of prisoners released during 2002, 88% were
male, 73% were white, 24% were black, 45% were Hispanic, and 58%
were U.S. citizens. Fifty-five percent were age 31 or older. These
patterns were most similar for those released for drug offenses, and
least similar for offenders released for immigration, weapon, and
violent offenses. Ninety-six percent of released immigration offenders
were male, 96% were white, 3% were black, 91% were Hispanic and
5% were U.S. Citizens.

Time served to first release -- Of prisoners released by standard
methods, males served more time than females (an average of 32.7
months versus 22.5 months); blacks served more time than whites
(44.2 months versus 27.5 months); and non-Hispanics served more
time than Hispanics (36.1 months versus 26.4 months). Older persons
served more time than younger (until over age 40), and U.S. citizens
served more time than noncitizens. However, across offenses, the
overall pattern does not apply. For example, blacks served an average
of 17 months longer than whites, but among property offenders
released from prison, whites served the same amount of time as
blacks. Black offenders served an average of  57 months for drug
offenses, compared to 37 months for white offenders. Among
immigration offenders, non-citizens were in prison an average of 5
months longer than U.S. citizens before being released. 

Chapter note

1) Offenders were classified according to their most serious offense 
at conviction. In cases involving multiple offenses, the AOUSC offense
severity hierarchy was applied.  The most serious offense was the one
with the most severe penalty imposed. If equal prison terms were
imposed, or there was no imprisonment, the offense with the highest
severity code, as determined by the U.S. Title and Code Criminal
Offense Citations Manual, was selected.

2) Tables 7.1 and 7.2 were created using the probation, parole, and
supervision data files of the Federal Probations Supervision
Information System (FPSIS), which is maintained by the AOUSC.
Yearend pending cases (that is, records with offenders who were
under active supervision as of the end of the fiscal year, September
30, 2002) were selected. 

Corporate defendants were excluded from table 7.1.

3) Tables 7.3-7.8 were created using the FPSIS data files as well. Only
records with one or more terminations of active supervision during October 
1, 2001, through September 30, 2002, were selected. Each termination was
counted separately. Technical violations and terminations for new crimes 
are shown only if supervision terminated with incarceration or removal 
from active supervision for reasons of a violation.

Corporate defendants were excluded from tables 7.3-7.8.

4) Table 7.9-7.16 were created from the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) data files.

Tables 7.9 and 7.10 show sentenced prisoners in the custody of the
BOP at the end of fiscal year 2002. Tables  7.11-7.16 include only
prisoners committed by U.S. district courts or released by the BOP
during fiscal year 2002.

In these tables, a single person may be counted more than once if that
person was committed into, or released from, the BOP more than one
time during fiscal year 2002, or if that person appears in more than
one column in a table, e.g., commitment and population.

Offense categories in these tables were based on combinations of
offense designations used by the BOP. They are similar, but may not
be directly comparable, to the categories used in other tables of this
Compendium. Offenses for some prisoners admitted or released were
not able to be classified; these offenders were included in the totals
and are shown as "other prisoners" on the last line of tables.

In these tables offenses were classified according to the offense
associated with the longest single sentence actually imposed.
Classifications in other tables may have been based on the longest
potential sentence allowed by law.

5) Tables 7.9-7.16 distinguish between prisoners committed by U.S.
district courts for violations of the U.S. Code and other prisoners. 
Prisoners released after commitment from U.S. district court are called
"first releases." The other admissions and releases include offenders
who returned to prison after their first release (such as probation,
parole, or supervised release violators), offenders convicted in other
courts (such as military courts), and persons admitted to prison as
material witnesses or for purposes of treatment, examination, or
transfer to another authority. Tables 7.9-7.16 exclude prisoners
sentenced by a District of Columbia Superior Court judge for violations
of the DC Criminal Code. Offenders who entered or left a prison
temporarily -- such as for transit to another location, for health 
care, or to serve a weekend sentence -- were not counted as admitted 
or released.  Persons who were detained for deportation by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and who were not criminal
offenders were also not included in the tables.

Table 7.11 distinguishes between standard and extraordinary methods
of release from prison. "Standard" releases include the usual methods
of exiting from prison, such as full-term sentence expirations,
expirations with good time, mandatory releases, and releases to
parole. Extraordinary releases are unusual exits from prison, such as
death, commutation, and transfer to another facility.

6) Tables 7.11-7.16 include only prisoners committed by U.S. district
courts and released by the BOP during fiscal year 2002. Prisoners
committed by U.S. district court --  but not for a violation of the U.S.
Code, or whose offense could not be classified -- were included in the
total but are not shown separately. Table 7.9, however, shows these
prisoners separately. Other prisoners -- such as probation and parole
violators and prisoners committed by other courts, such as military
courts or District of Columbia Superior Court -- were excluded from
tables 7.11-7.16, as were other persons admitted to Federal prison but
not committed from a U.S. district court.

7) In tables 7.11-7.16, time served was calculated for prisoner's arrival
into jurisdiction of the BOP until first release from prison, plus any jail
time served and credited. The calculation is the same as that currently
used by the BOP. Prisoners serving consecutive sentences may have
total imposed sentences exceeding the longest single sentence length.
Accordingly, time actually served may exceed the longest single
imposed sentence. The percent of sentenced served is the average of each
individual prisoner's percent of sentence served. Because other 
publications may include different groups of prisoners, calculate time 
served differently, or use a different offense classification, data in 
tables in this Compendium may differ from estimates of time served in 
previous publications by the BOP or in publications based on other data
sources.

Time served, as reported in tables 7.11-7.16 in this Compendium, may
not be directly comparable to the calculation of time served in the 1993
and prior compendia. The methodology in this report uses additional
information to identify prison commitment dates and account for jail
credit. In previous reports, jail credits were overestimated in some
cases. In addition, time served estimates reported in tables 7.12-7.14
and 7.16 include only prisoners released by standard methods
(expirations, mandatory releases, and releases to parole).  Prisoners
released by extraordinary means (death, commutation, transfer, and
so on) are excluded from the time served calculations in these tables.

8) Table 7.9 shows all persons admitted to, or released from, the
jurisdiction of the BOP during fiscal year 2002, except those prisoners
who were committed by a District of Columbia Superior Court judge. 
Prisoners counted in this column are the same as prisoners included
in tables 7.11, 7.12, and 7.13. Table 7.9 shows in separate columns,
as well as in the total, prisoners committed by a U.S. district court --
but not for a violation of the U.S. code, or whose offense could not 
be classified. Other columns in table 7.9 include prisoners who were
committed by other courts, returned to prison for violation of the
conditions of supervision, or were received for examination, treatment,
or transfer to another jurisdiction. Offenders who returned to prison 
for a violation of the conditions of supervision without a new court
commitment, were classified according to the offense with the longest
single sentence originally imposed at conviction.

Methodology

The Federal justice database 

Source of data

The source of data for all tables in this Compendium is the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) Federal justice database. The database is
presently constructed from source files provided by the U.S. Marshals
Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Executive Office for
U.S. Attorneys, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the United
States Sentencing Commission, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in addition to providing data
describing defendants in cases processed by the Federal judiciary,
provides data describing defendants processed by the Federal pretrial
services agencies and the Federal probation and supervision service.
Federal law prohibits the use of these files for any purposes other than
research or statistics. A description of the source agency data files is
provided in the table at the end of this section.

Some records in the Federal justice database are matched according
to a statistically weighted combination of names, other personal
identifiers, dates of court appearances, types of offenses, and other
relevant information contained in the files. Using the matched data
files, it is possible to combine information about two or more stages of
the processing of a criminal matter or case, for example from adjudication 
to probation or parole supervision.

Reporting period
Wherever possible, matters or cases have been selected according to
the event which occurred during fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 2001,
through September 30, 2002). Files which are organized by their
source agencies according to fiscal year nonetheless include some
pertinent records in later years' files. For example, tabulations of
suspects in matters concluded during fiscal year 2002 in this
Compendium have been assembled from source files containing records 
of 2002 matters concluded which were entered into the data system 
during fiscal years 2002 or 2003.

Availability of data items
The availability of particular items of information is affected by the 
data source. For example, data on prosecutors' decisions prior to court
filing are provided for cases investigated by U.S. attorneys but not for
those handled by other litigating divisions of the U.S. Department of
Justice. Criminal Division cases enter the data base once they are filed
in U.S. district court, however.

Many items of social and demographic information come from presentence
investigation records, supervision records, or sentencing records, and 
are available only for arrested defendants who were convicted and/or 
began serving a sentence involving supervised release. This particularly
affects gender, race, ethnicity, and prior record information.

Table construction and interpretation

The tables presented report events that occurred during the Federal
fiscal year -- October 1, 2001 -- September 30, 2002. Generally the
tables include both individual and organizational defendants.
Organizational defendants are not included in tables describing
defendants under pretrial release and detention, defendants
sentenced to incarceration, and offenders under post-conviction
supervision. Juvenile offenders are included in the reported 
statistics.

Unit of analysis
The unit of analysis in chapters 1 through 6 is a combination of a
person (or corporation) and a matter or case. For example, if a single
person is involved in three different criminal cases during the time
period specified in the table, he or she is counted three times in the
tabulation. Similarly, if a single criminal case involves a corporate
defendant and four individual defendants, it counts five times in the
tabulation. In chapter 7 the unit of analysis for incarceration, 
probation, parole, or other supervised release is a person entering 
custody or supervision, or a person leaving custody or supervision. For
example, a person convicted in two concurrent cases and committed once 
to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the indicated time 
period is counted as one admission to a term of incarceration.  A person 
who terminates probation twice in the indicated time period, such as with 
a violation and again after reinstatement, is counted as two terminations
of probation.

Interpretation
The tables in the Compendium are constructed to permit the user to
make valid comparisons of numbers within each table and to compare
percentage rates across tables. The total numbers of subjects in
Compendium tables that are based on records linked between two
files are generally less than the total number of records in either
source file. Accordingly, comparisons of absolute numbers across two
or more tables in this volume and other data sources are not
necessarily valid.

Offense classifications

Procedure
The offense classification procedure used in this Compendium is
based on the classification system followed by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts. Specific offenses are combined to form the
BJS categories shown in the Compendium tables.***These categories
correspond to the Bureau of Justice Statistics crime definitions and, 
to the extent possible, are organized and presented consistent with 
BJS publications on State criminal justice systems.***

Offense categories for Federal arrestees in chapter 1 are based on the
FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) offense classifications, 
which are converted into U.S. Marshals' four-digit offense codes, which, 
in turn are aggregated into the offense categories shown in the tables.  
These categories are similar, but may not be directly comparable to the 
BJS offense categories used in other chapters of this Compendium. For 
data from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, which include United 
States Code citations but do not include the Administrative Office 
offense classifications, United States Code titles and sections are 
translated into the Administrative Office classification system and then
aggregated into the offense categories used in the tables. Offense 
categories for prisoners in chapter 7 are based on combinations of 
offense designations used by the Bureau of Prisons. They are similar to 
the categories in other chapters and other tables in chapter 7, but may 
not be directly comparable.

Felony/misdemeanor distinctions
Felony and misdemeanor distinctions are provided where possible.
Felony offenses are those with a maximum penalty of  more than 1
year in prison.  Misdemeanor offenses are those with a maximum
penalty of 1 year or less.  Felonies and misdemeanors are further
classified using the maximum term of imprisonment authorized. Section 
3559, U.S. Code, Title 18 classifies offenses according to the
following schedule:

Felonies
Class A felony -- life imprisonment, or if the maximum penalty is
death.
Class B felony -- 25 years or more.
Class C felony  -- less than 25 years but more than 10 years.
Class D felony  -- less than 10 years but more than 5 years.
Class E felony --  less than 5 years but more than 1 year.

Misdemeanors
Class A misdemeanor -- 1 year or less but more than 1 month.
Class B misdemeanor -- 6 months or less but more than 30 days.
Class C misdemeanor -- 30 days or less but more than 5 days.

Infraction -- 5 days or less, or if no imprisonment is authorized.

In this Compendium, felony and misdemeanor distinctions are provided 
where the data permit these distinctions. Chapters 1 and 2 do not use 
this distinction because many suspects cannot be so classified at the 
arrest and investigation stages in the criminal justice process.
Chapter 3 no longer reports this distinction because the Pretrial
Services Agency no longer gathers this information. Chapters 4 and 5
distinguish between felony and misdemeanor offenses, as do tables
7.1 7.6. Tables 7.7 7.11 follow the convention of other BJS
publications by separately tabulating offenders whose actual imposed
sentences are less than or equal to 1 year and those whose actual
sentences are greater than 1 year.

Most serious offense selection
Where more than one offense is charged or adjudicated, the most
serious offense (the one that may or did result in the most severe
sentence) is used to classify offenses. The offense description may
change as the criminal justice process proceeds. Tables indicate
whether investigated, charged or adjudicated offenses are used. In
chapter 2 the most serious offense is based on the criminal lead
charge as determined by the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for
the criminal proceeding. In chapter 3 the major charged offense is
based upon the Administrative Office's offense severity classification
system, as determined by the pretrial officer responsible for the case.
To select this offense, the officer ranks offenses according to severity
based on maximum imprisonment, type of crime, and maximum fines.
In chapter 4 the most serious offense charged is the one that has the
most severe potential sentence. For chapter 5 conviction offenses are
based on statutory maximum penalties. In chapter 6 offenses are
classified by the offense of conviction. In tables 7.1 7.6, the most
serious offense of conviction is either the one having the longest
sentence imposed or, if equal sentences were imposed or there was
no imprisonment, it was the offense carrying the highest severity code
as determined by the Administrative Office's offense severity code
ranking. In tables 7.7 7.13, prisoners are classified according to the
offense which bears the longest single incarceration sentence. 

Offense categories
For offense categories in all text tables, the following conditions apply:

"Murder" includes nonnegligent manslaughter.
"Sexual abuse" includes only violent sex offenses.
"Fraud" excludes tax fraud.
"Larceny" excludes transportation of stolen property.

"Other property felonies" excludes fraudulent property offenses, and
includes destruction of property and trespass.

"Tax law violations" includes tax fraud.

"Obscene material" denotes the mail or transport thereof.

"All other felonies" includes felonies with unknown or unclassifiable
offense type.

"Misdemeanors" includes misdemeanors, petty offenses, and
unknown offense levels.

"Drug possession" also includes other drug misdemeanors.

Glossary

Acquittal -- legal judgment that a criminal defendant has not been
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charges against him.

Affirmed -- in the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared
valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.

Agriculture violations -- violations of the Federal statutes on
agriculture and conservation: for example, violations of the Agricultural
Acts, Insecticide Act, and the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921; also
violations of laws concerning plant quarantine and the handling of
animals pertaining to research (7 U.S.C., except sections on food
stamps (fraud); also 16 U.S.C. sections relating generally to violations
in operating public parks, such as trespassing for hunting, shooting,
and fishing). 

Antitrust violations -- offenses relating to Federal antitrust statutes,
which aim to protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraints,
price fixing, monopolies (for example, 15 U.S.C. sec sec 1, 3, 8, 20,
and 70(i)), and discrimination in pricing or in furnishing services or
facilities (15 U.S.C. sec sec 13(c) and 13(e)). 

Appeal -- a review by a higher court of a judgment or decision of a
lower court.

Appeals, U.S. Court of -- an intermediate Federal court, inferior to 
the U.S. Supreme Court, but higher than the U.S. district court. The
function of the U.S. court of appeals is to review the final decisions 
of the district courts, if challenged. There are 13 courts of appeal 
in the Federal system representing the 12 judicial circuits and the 
Federal circuit (28 U.S.C. sec 41).

Appellant -- the party which takes an appeal from 1 court or
jurisdiction to another; opposite of appellee.

Appellee -- the party against whom the appeal is taken; opposite of
appellant.

Arson -- willfully or maliciously setting, or attempting to set, fire to 
any property within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of 
the United States as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 7 (18 U.S.C. sec 81; and
49A U.S.C. sec sec 1804 and 1809). (See also, "Explosives.")

Assault -- intentionally inflicting or attempting or threatening to inflict
bodily injury to another person. Applies to anyone within the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as defined in
18 U.S.C. sec 7, or to any Government official, foreign official, official
guest, internationally protected person, or any officer or employee of
the United States designated in 18 U.S.C. sec 1114 (for example, 16
U.S.C. sec sec 1857(e) and 1859; 18 U.S.C. sec sec 111(a), 112(b),
113(c)(e), 114, 115(c), 351(d)(e), 372, 373, 1502, 1751(c), 1959,
2118(c), and 2231(a); 21 U.S.C. sec sec 461(c), 675(b), and 1041(c);
26 U.S.C. sec sec 7212(a)(b); 29 U.S.C. sec 1141; 46 U.S.C. sec 701;
and 49A U.S.C. sec 1472(k)); also certain violations of the Fair
Housing Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. sec sec 3610 and 3631).

Bail -- the sum of money promised as a condition of release, to be
paid if a released defendant defaults (18 U.S.C. sec 3142(c)).

Bribery -- offering or promising anything of value with intent to
unlawfully influence a public official in the discharge of official 
duties. Applies generally to bank employees, officers or employees of 
the U.S. Government, witnesses, or any common carrier.  Includes 
soliciting or receiving anything of value in consideration of aiding a 
person to obtain employment in the U.S. Government. Also, receiving or
soliciting any remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or any kind 
in return for purchasing, ordering, leasing, or recommending to purchase 
any good, service, or facility (18 U.S.C. sec sec 201(a), 203(a)(b),
204,207(a)(c), 208, 210, 211, 213, 215, and 663; 21 U.S.C. sec 622; 46 
U.S.C. sec 239(i); and 49 U.S.C. sec sec 104, 917(b), and 11904(b)). 

Burglary -- breaking and entering into another's property with intent to
steal within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the 
United States, as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 7. Includes breaking and 
entering into any official bank, credit union, savings and loan institution,
post office, vessel or steamboat assigned to the use of mail service, or
personal property of the United States; or breaking the seal or lock of
any carrier facility containing interstate or foreign shipments of freight
or express (18 U.S.C. sec sec 2111, 2113(a), and 2115-17).

Career offender -- defendants are counted as career offenders if they
are at least 18 years old at the time of the instant offense, if the 
instant offense of conviction is a felony -- that is either a crime of
violence or a drug crime; and if they have at least two prior felony
convictions of either a crime of violence or a drug crime. 

Case -- in this Compendium, a judicial proceeding for the determination 
of a controversy between parties wherein rights are enforced or protected, 
or wrongs are prevented or redressed; any proceeding judicial in its 
nature.

Civil rights -- violations of civil liberties such as the personal, natural
rights guaranteed and protected by the Constitution. Includes the Civil
Rights Acts, such as those enacted after the Civil War, and more recently 
in 1957 and 1964.

Collateral bond -- an agreement made by a defendant as a condition
of his or her pretrial release that requires the defendant to post
property valued at the full bail amount as an assurance of his or her
intention to appear at trial.

Communication -- violations covering areas of communication such as the
Communications Act of 1934 (including wire tapping and wire interception). 
A communication is ordinarily considered to be a deliberate interchange 
of thoughts or opinions between two or more persons.

Community confinement -- a form of commitment either as a substitute for
Federal imprisonment or as a condition of probation in a community 
treatment center, halfway house, restitution center, mental health 
facility, alcohol or drug rehabilitation center, or other community
facility; and participation in gainful employment, employment search
efforts, community service, vocational training, treatment, educational
programs, or similar facility-approved programs during non-residential
hours. Under the Federal sentencing guidelines, community confinement may 
be a substitute for imprisonment on a day-to-day basis for defendants with 
of imprisonment. (See also, U.S.S.G. sec 5C1.1(e).) 

Complaint -- a written statement of the essential facts constituting the
offense charged, with an offer to prove the fact, so that a prosecution
may be instituted. The complaint can be "taken out" by the victim, the
police officer, the district attorney, or other interested party. 

Concurrent sentence -- a sentence imposed which is to be served at
the same time as another sentence imposed earlier or during the
same proceeding (18 U.S.C. sec 3584). (See also, "Consecutive
sentence.") 

Conditional release -- in this Compendium, at the pretrial stage, a
conditional release is release from detention contingent on any
combination of restrictions that are deemed necessary to guarantee
the defendant's appearance at trial or the safety of the community 
(see text in Chapter 2 of this Compendium.)

Consecutive sentence -- a sentence imposed that will follow another
sentence imposed earlier or during the same proceeding; opposite of
concurrent sentence.

Conspiracy -- an agreement by two or more persons to commit or to effect 
the commission of an unlawful act or to use unlawful means to accomplish 
an act that is not in itself unlawful; also any overt act in furtherance 
of the agreement. A person charged with conspiracy is classified under 
the substantive offense alleged.

Continuing criminal enterprise --  a felony committed as part of a
continuing series of violations, which is undertaken by a person in
concert with five or more other persons with respect to whom such
person occupies a position of organizer, a supervisory position, or 
any other position of management, and from which such person obtains
substantial income or resources (21 U.S.C. sec 848(c)).

Conviction -- the result of a criminal trial which ends in a judgment
that the defendant is guilty.  The final judgment on a verdict or finding
of guilty, a plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere, but does not
include a final judgment which has been expunged by pardon, reversed, set
aside, or otherwise rendered invalid.

Corporate surety -- in this Compendium, a surety; one who has entered 
into a bond to give surety for another; for example, bail bondsman. As  
a condition of his or her release, the defendant enters into an agreement 
that requires a third party such as a bail bondsman to promise to pay the 
full bail amount in the event that the defendant fails to appear. (See 
also, "Surety bond.")

Counterfeiting -- falsely making, forging, or altering obligations with a
view to deceive or defraud, by passing the copy or thing forged for that
which is original or genuine. Applies to obligation or security of the
United States, foreign obligation or security, coin or bar stamped at
any mint in the United States, money order issued by the Postal Service,
domestic or foreign stamp, or seal of any department or agency of the 
United States. Includes passing, selling, attempting to pass or sell, or
bringing into the United States any of the above falsely made articles.  
Also, making, selling, or possessing any plates or stones (or any other 
thing or instrument) used for printing counterfeit obligations or 
securities of the United States, foreign obligations or securities, 
Government transportation requests, or postal stamp; or knowingly and
intentionally trafficking in falsified labels affixed to phono records, 
motion pictures, or audio visual works (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 
471, 473, 477, 479, 481, 485, 487, 501, 507, 509, 513(b), 2318, and 2320).

Courts -- See "Appeals, U.S. Court of" and "District court, U.S." 
Pursuant to Article III of the Constitution, judicial power is vested in 
the following Federal Courts: The U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. district court for the
District of Columbia.

Criminal career -- the longitudinal sequence of crimes committed by
an individual offender. 

Criminal history category -- under the Federal sentencing guidelines,
a quantification of the defendant's prior criminal record and the
defendant's propensity to recidivate. Guideline criminal history
categories range from Category I (primarily first-time offenders) to
Category VI (career criminals).

Custom laws -- violations regarding taxes which are payable upon goods 
and merchandise imported or exported. Includes the duties, toll, tribute, 
or tariff payable upon merchandise exported or imported.

Deadly or dangerous weapon -- an instrument capable of inflicting death 
or serious bodily injury. 

Declination -- the decision by a prosecutor not to file a case in a
matter received for investigation. In this Compendium, immediate
declinations (i.e., where less than 1 hour of time is spent on a case)
are excluded.

Defendant -- the party against whom relief or recovery is sought in an
action or suit, or the accused in a criminal case.

Departure -- under the Federal sentencing guidelines, the term used to
describe a sentence imposed outside the applicable guideline sentencing 
range. A court may depart when it finds an aggravating or mitigating
circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into
consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines 
that should result in a sentence different from that described (18 U.S.C. 
sec 3553(b); U.S.S.G. sec 5K2.0). (See also, "Substantial assistance.") 

Deposit bond -- an agreement made by a defendant as a condition of his or 
her release that requires the defendant to post a fraction of the bail 
before he or she is released.

Detention -- the legally authorized confinement of persons after arrest,
whether before or during prosecution.  Only those persons held 2 or more 
days are classified as detained in this Compendium.

Dismissal -- termination of a case before trial or other final judgment
(including nolle prosequi and deferred prosecution).

Disposition -- the decision made on a case brought before a criminal
court.

Distribution -- delivery (other than by administering or dispensing) of
a controlled substance (21 U.S.C. sec 802(6)). The term "controlled
substance" means any drug or other substance, or immediate precursor, 
included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of subchapter
I of Chapter 13 (title 21). The term does not include distilled spirits,
wine, malt beverages, or tobacco, as those terms are defined or used
in subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

District court, U.S. -- trial courts with general Federal jurisdiction 
over cases involving Federal laws or offenses and actions between 
citizens of different States.

District of Columbia -- the jurisdiction of the U.S. district court for 
the District of Columbia. This Compendium includes Federal offenses
prosecuted in U.S. district courts, and except for tables based on 
data from the Bureau of Prisons, excludes violations of the District 
of Columbia Code and cases prosecuted in the District of Columbia
Superior Court.  

Drug offenses --- offenses under a Federal or State laws prohibiting
the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a
controlled substance (or counterfeit substance), or the possession of 
a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) with intent to
manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense. Also using any
communication facilities which causes or facilitates a felony under 
title 21, or furnishing of fraudulent or false information concerning
prescriptions as well as any other unspecified drug-related offense.
(See also, "Distribution," "Possession," and "Trafficking.")

Embezzlement -- the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person
to whom such property has been lawfully entrusted. Includes offenses
committed by bank officers or employees; officers or employees of the
Postal Service; officers of lending, credit, or insurance institutions; 
any officer or employee of a corporation or association engaged in
commerce as a common carrier; court officers of the U.S. courts; or
officers or employees of the United States. Also, stealing from
employment and training funds, programs receiving Federal funds,
and Indian tribal organizations; or selling, conveying, or disposing of
any money, property, records, or thing of value to the United States or
any department thereof without authority (for example, 15 U.S.C. sec
645(c); 18 U.S.C. sec sec 153, 334, 642-57, 665(a)(b), 666(b), 1163,
1709, 1711, 1956, and 1957; 25 U.S.C. sec 450(d); 29 U.S.C. sec
502(b); and 42 U.S.C. sec sec 1760, 2971, and 3220(b)).

Escape -- departing or attempting to depart from the custody of a
correctional institution; a judicial, correctional, or law enforcement
officer; or a hospital where one is committed for drug abuse and drug
dependency problems. Knowingly advising, aiding, assisting, or
procuring the escape or attempted escape of any person from a
correctional facility, an officer, or the above-mentioned hospital as 
well as concealing an escapee. Providing or attempting to provide to an
inmate in prison a prohibited object; or making, possessing, obtaining,
or attempting to make or obtain a prohibited object (as defined in 18
U.S.C. sec 1791 (d)(1)(A)). Instigating, assisting, attempting to cause,
or causing any mutiny or riot at any Federal penal, detention, or
correctional facility, or conveying into any of these institutions any
dangerous instrumentalities (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec ec 751(a)(b),
752(a), 753, 755-56, 1071, 1073, 1791(a)(c), (d)(1)(A), 1792,
3146(a)(b)(d), 3147 and 3615; 28 U.S.C. sec 1826; 42 U.S.C. sec sec
261 and 3425; and 50 U.S.C sec 823).

Explosives -- violations of Federal law involving importation,
manufacture, distribution, and storage of explosive material. Includes
unlawful receipt, possession or transportation of explosives without a
license (18 U.S.C. sec 842(a)), where prohibited by law (18 U.S.C. sec
842(c), or using explosives during commission of a felony (18 U.S.C.
sec 844(h)). Also includes violations relating to dealing in stolen
explosives (18 U.S.C. sec 842(h)), using mail or other form of
communication to threaten an individual with explosives (18 U.S.C.
sec 844(e), and possessing explosive materials at an airport (18
U.S.C. sec 844(g), and 49A U.S.C. sec sec 1804 and 1809).  (See
also, "Arson" and 18 U.S.C. sec sec 842(e)(g)(i)(k); and sec 844(b).)  

Failure to appear -- willful absence from any court appointment.

Felony -- a criminal offense punishable by death or imprisonment for a
term exceeding 1 year. According to 18 U.S.C. sec 3559, felonies are
classified into 5 grades based on maximum terms of imprisonment:
Class A felony, if the maximum term is life imprisonment, or if the
maximum penalty is death; Class B, if 25 years or more; Class C, if
less than 25 years, but 10 years or more; Class D, if less than 10
years, but five or more years; and Class E, if less than 5 years, but
more than 1.   

Filing -- the initiation of a criminal case in U.S. district court by 
formal submission to the court of a charging document alleging that 
one or more named persons have committed one or more specified offenses.
In this Compendium, each defendant in a case is counted separately,
and only the most serious alleged offense is considered.

Financial conditions -- monetary conditions upon which release of a
defendant before trial is contingent. Includes deposit bond, surety
bond, and collateral bond. (See also,"Specific definitions.")

First release -- in this Compendium, prisoners who are released from
the Bureau of Prisons for the first time after their commitment by a
U.S. district court (that is, excludes offenders who are returned to
prison after their first release to supervision).

Food and drug violations -- violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act such as regulations for clean and sanitary movement of
animals (21 U.S.C. sec (b)), adulteration or misbranding of any food 
or drug (21 U.S.C. sec 331(a)), failure to transmit information about
prescription drugs (21 U.S.C. sec 331(o)), and intent to defraud and
distribute adulterated material (21 U.S.C. sec 676).  (See also, 18
U.S.C. sec 1365(b); 21 U.S.C. sec sec 17, 22, 63, 115, 122, 126,
134(d), 142, 144, 151, 153, 155, 158, 201, 205, 209, 210, 212,
331(b)-(g), 331(i)-(n)(p)(t), 333(a), 458(a), 459, 460(a)-(d), 461(a),
463, 466, 610(a)(c), 611(a), 620, 642, 1037, 1041(a), and 1175.)

Forgery -- falsely making or materially altering a document with the
intent to defraud. Includes such falsification with intent to pass off 
as genuine any of the following: U.S. Postal Service money order;
postmarking stamp or impression; obligation or security of the United
States; foreign obligation, security, or bank note; contractors' bond,
bid, or public record; deed; power of attorney; letters patent; seal 
of a court or any department or agency of the U.S. Government; the
signature of a judge or court officer; ships' papers; documents on entry
of vessels; customs matters; coin or bar; and so forth. Also includes
making, possessing, selling, or printing plates or stones for
counterfeiting obligations or securities, and detaching, altering, or
defacing any official, device, mark or certificate (for example, 18
U.S.C. sec sec 483, 493, 495, 497, 503, 505, 510(a)(b), and 511; 19
U.S.C. sec 1436; and 21 U.S.C. sec sec 458(b)(c)). 

Fraud -- unlawfully depriving a person of his or her property or legal
rights through intentional misrepresentation of fact or deceit other 
than forgery or counterfeiting.  Includes violations of statutes 
pertaining to lending and credit institutions, the Postal Service, 
interstate wire, radio, television, computer, credit card, veterans 
benefits, allotments, bankruptcy, marketing agreements, commodity 
credit, the Securities and Exchange Commission, railroad retirement,
unemployment, Social Security, food stamp, false personation, 
citizenship, passports, conspiracy, and claims and statements, 
excluding tax fraud. The category excludes fraud involving tax 
violations that are shown in a separate category under "Public-order, 
other offenses." (See also, specific offenses in this glossary for 
citations.)

Fraudulent property offenses -- see "Property offenses, fraudulent."

Gambling -- the Federal offense of transporting, manufacturing,
selling, possessing, or using any gambling device in the District 
of Columbia or any possession of the United States or within Indian
country or the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United
States as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 7. Includes transporting gambling
devices in the jurisdiction of the United States (except under authority
of the Federal Trade Commission or any State that has a law providing
for their exemption from these provisions), transmitting wagering
information in interstate or foreign commerce, interstate transporting of
wagering paraphernalia, importing or transporting lottery tickets, or
mailing lottery tickets or related matter (for example, 15 U.S.C. sec sec
1173 and 1175; and 18 U.S.C. sec sec 1082(a), 1084, 1302, 1956, and
1962).

Good-time -- time credited toward early release to an offender for
good behavior in imprisonment. Under the 1984 Sentencing Reform
Act, two classes of prisoners are ineligible to receive good-time
credits: (1) misdemeanants serving a term of imprisonment of 1 year
or less; and (2) felons serving life sentences. All other Federal
prisoners receive a flat allocation of 54 days per year of sentence
served; credit for a partial year remaining at the end of the sentence 
is prorated. The annual allotment does not change according to the
length of time a Federal inmate already has spent in prison (18 U.S.C.
sec 3624(b)).

Guideline sentencing range -- under the Federal sentencing guidelines, 
the range of imprisonment corresponding to the applicable guideline 
offense level and criminal history category. The guideline offense 
level incorporates any minimum terms of imprisonment required by 
statute as well as the statutory maximum term of imprisonment, where
applicable.

Guilty plea -- a plea in response to formal charges admitting that 
the defendant committed offenses as charged. In this Compendium, 
this category also includes pleas of nolo contendere.

Hispanic -- ethnic category based on classification by reporting
agency.  Hispanic persons may be of any race. 

Home detention -- a form of confinement and supervision either as a
substitute for imprisonment or as a condition of probation that 
restricts the defendant to his place of residence continuously 
(except for authorized absences) and enforced by appropriate means of
surveillance by the probation office. Under the Federal sentencing
guidelines, home detention may be a substitute for imprisonment on a
day to day basis for defendants with a guideline maximum sentence of
less than 16 months imprisonment. (See also, U.S.S.G. sec 5C1.1.)

Homicide -- see "Murder."

Immigration offenses -- offenses involving illegal entrance into the
United States, illegally reentering after being deported, willfully 
failing to deport when so ordered, willfully remaining beyond days 
allowed on conditional permit, or falsely representing oneself to be a 
citizen of the United States.  Includes violations relating to 
provisions for special agricultural workers and to those relating to
limitations on immigrant status (such as employment). Also includes 
bringing in or harboring any aliens not duly admitted by an immigration
officer (for example, 8 U.S.C. sec sec 1160, 1252(d), 1255, 1282(a), 
1286, 1324-25, and 1326(a)). 

Incarceration -- any sentence of confinement, including prison, jail,
and other residential placements.

Indeterminate sentence -- a prison sentence whose maximum or minimum 
term is not specifically established at the time of sentencing (18 
U.S.C. sec sec 4205(b)(1)(2)).

Indictment -- the formal charging of the defendant with a particular
crime by a grand jury. In the Federal system, a defendant may waive
indictment and be proceeded against through an information. (See
also,  Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(b).)

Information -- the formal accusation charging the defendant with a
particular crime but brought by the U.S. attorney rather than by the
grand jury.

Infraction -- an offense for which the maximum term of imprisonment
is 5 days or less, or where no imprisonment is authorized, according 
to 18 U.S.C. sec 3559.

Instant offense -- the offense of conviction, and all relevant conduct
under U.S.S.G sec 1B1.3.   

Intermittent confinement -- a form of commitment, in a prison or jail,
either as a substitute for imprisonment or as a condition of probation.
Under the Federal sentencing guidelines, intermittent confinement may
be a substitute for imprisonment (each 24 hours of intermittent
confinement is credited as 1 day of incarceration) for defendants with
a guideline maximum of less than 16 months imprisonment.  (See
also, U.S.S.G. sec 5C1.1.)

Jurisdictional offenses -- acts that are Federal crimes because of
the place in which they occur (such as on an aircraft, on Federal land
or property) and for certain crimes on Indian reservations or at sea, 
but which cannot be classified in a more specific substantive category.

Juvenile -- a person who has not attained the age of 18 years; or for
the purposes of a juvenile delinquency hearing, a person who has not
attained the age of 21 years (18 U.S.C. sec 5031). 

Juvenile delinquency -- a violation of Federal law committed by a
person prior to the age of 18 years which would have been a crime 
if committed by an adult (18 U.S.C. sec 5031).

Kidnaping -- unlawfully seizing any person as defined in 18 U.S.C.
sec 1201 for ransom or reward, except in the case of a minor by a
parent. Includes receiving, possessing, or disposing of any money or
other property that has been delivered as ransom or reward in
connection with a kidnaping as well as conspiring to kidnap. Also,
includes kidnaping or attempting to kidnap any Government official,
the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice
President, any foreign official, any official guest, or any 
internationally protected person. (See also, 18 U.S.C. sec 351(b); 
and hostage taking as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 1203.)

Labor law violations -- violations of, for example, the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 and the Taft-Hartley Act, which govern a broad
spectrum of activities relating to labor-management relations (for
example, 29 U.S.C. sec sec 186(a), 461(a), 463, 1021(b), 1022,
1023(b)(d), 1024(a)(c), 1027, 1111(a)(b), 1112(c), 1811, 1816, 1821
and 1851). 

Larceny -- the act of taking and carrying away any personal property
of another with intent to steal or convert it to one's own use or gain.
Includes stealing, possessing or illegally selling or disposing of
anything of value to the United States or any of its departments or
agencies; or stealing from a bank, the Postal Service, or any interstate
or foreign shipments by carrier.  Also encompasses receiving or
possessing stolen property or pirate property; and stealing or obtaining
by fraud any funds, assets, or that belong to, or are entrusted to, the
custody of an Indian tribal organization (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec
641, 659, 661-62, 667, 1168(a), 1704, 1707, and 2113(b)).  (This
offense category excludes the transportation of stolen property.)

Liquor violations -- violations of Internal Revenue Service laws on
liquor, as well as violations of liquor laws not cited under these 
laws, such as dispensing or unlawfully possessing intoxicants in Indian
country; transporting intoxicating liquors into any State, territory,
district, or possession where sale is prohibited; shipping packages
containing unmarked and unlabeled intoxicants; shipping liquor by
C.O.D.; knowingly delivering a liquor shipment to someone other than
to whom it has been consigned; and violating in any way the Federal
Alcohol Administration Act (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec, 1156, 1263
and 1265; 26 U.S.C. sec sec 5113, 5171(c), 5179, 5214, 5222, 5291,
5301(b), 5601, 5603(a), 5604, 5606, 5608(a), 5661(a), 5662, 5672,
5681(a)(c), 5683, 5685(b) and 5687; and 27 U.S.C. sec sec 203,
205(f), 206(b) and 208(a)). 

Magistrates (U.S.) (Federal) -- judicial officers appointed by judges of
Federal district courts having many but not all of the powers of a judge. 
Magistrates are designated to hear a wide variety of motions and other
pretrial matters in both criminal and civil cases. With consent of the
parties, they may conduct civil or misdemeanor criminal trials.
Magistrates, however, may not preside over felony trials or over jury
selection in felony cases.

Mailing or transportation of obscene materials -- a violation of
Federal law relating to knowingly using the mail for mailing obscene or
crime-inciting matter, as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec and 39 U.S.C. sec
3001(e). Also includes transporting for sale or distribution, importing,
or transporting any obscene matter in interstate or foreign commerce.
(See also, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 1462-63.)

Major offense (while on conditional release) -- allegation, arrest, or
conviction of a crime for which the minimum sentence is incarceration
for over 90 days or greater than 1 year on probation. (See also,
PACTS Statistical Reporting Guide, Version 1.0, Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts.) 

Mandatory sentences -- a sentence that includes a minimum term of
imprisonment that the sentencing court is statutorily required to
impose barring the government's motion of substantial assistance.
See, for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 841 and 960, which provide for
mandatory sentences ranging from 5 years imprisonment to life
imprisonment depending on the quantity of drugs involved. 

Mandatory sentencing enhancement -- a form of mandatory sentence in 
which the minimum term of imprisonment is to be imposed consecutive to 
any other term of imprisonment imposed. See, for example, 18 U.S.C. sec
924(c), which provides for a 5-year to lifetime enhancement for the use 
of a firearm during the commission of a crime; 18 U.S.C. sec 844(h), 
which provides for a 5-year enhancement for use of firearms or 
explosives during the commission of a crime; and 18 U.S.C. sec 929 
which provides for a 5-year enhancement for the use of armor-piercing
ammunition during the commission of a crime.

Mandatory release -- the release of an inmate from prison after
confinement for a time period equal to his or her full sentence minus
statutory good-time, if any. Federal prisoners released on mandatory
release may still be subject to a period of post-release community
supervision.

Matter -- in this Compendium, a potential case under review by a U.S.
attorney on which more than 1 hour is expended.

Matters concluded -- in this Compendium, matters about which a
final decision has been reached by a U.S. attorney. Specifically
includes matters filed as cases, matters declined after investigation,
matters referred for disposition by U.S. magistrates, and matters
otherwise terminated without reaching court.

Migratory birds offenses -- violations of acts relating to birds which
move from one place to another in season. Includes taking, killing, or
possessing migratory birds, or any part, nest, or egg thereof, in
violation of Federal regulations or the transportation laws of the State,
territory, or district from which the bird was taken.  Also, misuse or
non-use of a migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamp (for
example, 16 U.S.C. sec sec 690(g), 701, 703, 704-6, 707(b), 708, 711,
and 718(a)(e)(g)). 

Minor offense (while on conditional release) -- conviction of a crime
for which the maximum sentence is incarceration for 90 days or less,
probation of 1 year or less, or a fine of $500 or less. (See also, PACTS
Statistical Reporting Guide, Version 1.0, Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts.) 

Misdemeanor -- a criminal offense punishable by a jail term not
exceeding 1 year and any offense specifically defined as a
misdemeanor by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for the
purposes of data collection.  According to 18 U.S.C. sec 3559,
misdemeanors are classified in 3 letter grades, based on the
maximum terms of imprisonment: Class A, if 1 year or less, but more
than 6 months; Class B, if 6 months or less, but more than 30 days;
and Class C, 30 days or less, but more than 5 days. (This category
includes offenses previously called minor offenses that were
reclassified under the Federal Magistrate Act of 1979.)

Mixed sentence -- a sentence requiring the convicted offender to
serve a term of imprisonment, followed by a term of probation. Unless
otherwise noted, offenders receiving mixed sentences are included in
both incarceration and probation categories. 

Most serious offense -- in this Compendium, the offense with the
greatest potential sentence; or with respect to tables describing
Federal prisoners, the offense with the greatest imposed sentence 
(for example, prison data in Chapter 6).

Motor carrier violations -- violations of the Federal statutes relating
to the Motor Carrier Act, which regulates (routes, rates) of motor
carriers of freight and passengers in interstate commerce. The Act is
administered by the Interstate Commerce Commission (for example,
15 U.S.C. secsec 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990; 49 U.S.C. sec sec 117(a), 
301(f), 303(f), 322(a)(d), 411, 526, 917(f), 1021(b)(f), 11703, 11903
(a), 11904, 11907, 11909(a), 11909(c), 11910, 11913, and 11914; and 
49A U.S.C. sec 120).

Motor vehicle theft -- interstate or foreign transporting, receiving,
concealing, storing, bartering, selling, or disposing of any stolen 
motor     vehicle or aircraft (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 2119, 2313, 
and 2322; and 49A U.S.C. sec 1472(i)).

Murder -- the unlawful killing of a human being with malice
aforethought, either express or implied. Nonnegligent manslaughter 
is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.  This offense
covers committing or attempting to commit murder (first or second
degree) or voluntary manslaughter within the special maritime and
territorial jurisdiction of the United States (18 U.S.C. sec 7). Includes
killing or attempting to kill any Government official, the President of 
the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President, any officers 
and employees of the United States, any foreign officials, any official
guests, or any internationally protected persons. As applied to the
owner or charterer of any steamboat or vessel, knowingly and willfully
causing or allowing fraud, neglect, misconduct, or violation of any law
resulting in loss of life (18 U.S.C. sec sec 113(a), 115(a), 1111-13,
1115, 1117, 1512(a)(1), 1751(a), and 2332(b)).

National defense violations -- violations of the national defense laws
on the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Production Act of
1950, the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (which includes prices,
rents, and wages), the Subversive Activities Control Act, alien
registration, treason (including espionage, sabotage, sedition, and the
Smith Act of 1940); also violations relating to energy facilities, curfew
and restricted areas, exportation of war materials, trading with an
enemy, illegal use of uniform and any other violations of the Federal
statutes concerning national defense (for example, 8 U.S.C. sec sec
1304(e) and 1306(b)(d); 10 U.S.C. sec sec 976 and 2408; 18 U.S.C.
sec sec 703, 705, 711, 713, 792, 794, 797, 799, 953, 961, 965, 967,
970, 1366(a), 1382, 2152, 2153(b), 2154(b), 2155(b), 2156(b), 2382,
2384, 2386, 2388(a)(c), and 2390; 22 U.S.C. sec sec 253, 286, 447,
447(c), 450, 455, 612, 614(b)(f), 617, 1178(c), 1182, 1199, 1978(c),
2778(b), 4198, 4202 and 5113(c); 42 U.S.C. sec sec 2274(b), 2276,
2278(b) and 2384(b); and 50A U.S.C. sec sec 2, 3(a)(c), 16, 167, 210,
322, 324, 326, 328, 421(a)(c), 462, 468(b), 643(a), 781, 783(b)(d),
789, 794, 797, 851, 1152, 1705, 1436(e), 1809(c), 2062, 2071(b),
2073, 2405(a)(b), and 2410(b)).

Negligent manslaughter -- causing the death of another, within the
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as
defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 7, by wanton or reckless disregard for human
life. Also negligent manslaughter of any Government official, the
President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President,
any officers and employees of the United States, any foreign officials,
any official guests, or any internationally protected persons. This
offense category also includes misconduct, negligence, or inattention
to duties by ship officers on a steamboat or vessel resulting in death 
to any person (18 U.S.C. sec 1112).

New law -- In this Compendium defendants convicted and sentenced
pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. (See also "Old law.")

Nolo contendere -- defendant's plea in a criminal case indicating that
he or she will not contest charges, but not admitting or denying guilt.

Non-citizen -- a person who is without U.S. citizenship, including legal
aliens (for example, resident aliens, tourists, and refugees/asylees)
and illegal aliens.

Nonviolent sex offenses -- transporting, coercing, or enticing any
individual (including minors) to go from one place to another in
interstate or foreign commerce, in the District of Columbia, or in any
territory or possession of the United States with the intent and purpose
to engage in prostitution, or any sexual activity for which any person
can be charged with a criminal offense (8 U.S.C. sec 1328 and 18
U.S.C. sec sec 1460, 1466, 2251-52, 2257, 2421 and 2423).

Not convicted -- acquittal by bench or jury trial, mistrial, and dismissal
(including nolle prosequi and deferred prosecution).

Not guilty -- plea entered by the accused to a criminal charge. If the
defendant refuses to plead, the court will enter a plea of not guilty. 
Also the form of a verdict in a criminal trial where the jury acquits the
defendant.

Offense -- violation of U.S. criminal law.  In this Compendium, where
more than 1 offense is charged, the offense with the greatest potential
penalty is reported.

Offense level -- under the Federal sentencing guidelines, a
quantification of the relative seriousness of the offense of conviction
and any offense-specific aggravating or mitigating factors. Guideline
offense levels range from level 1 (the least serious offense) to level 
43 (the most serious offense).

Old law -- in this Compendium, defendants convicted and sentenced
pursuant to laws applicable before the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. 
(See also, "New law.")

Parole -- period of supervision after release from custody before the
expiration of sentence. The U.S. Parole Commission is empowered to
grant, modify or revoke the parole of all Federal offenders. Pursuant 
to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, parole was abolished and
defendants are required to serve the imposed sentence (less 54 days
per year good-time for sentences greater than 1 year, but not life
imprisonment), followed by a term of supervised release. Because of
the number of Federal inmates sentenced under pre-Sentencing
Reform provisions, parole is being phased out.

Perjury -- a false material declaration under oath in any proceeding
before or ancillary to any court or grand jury of the United States.
Includes knowingly or willfully giving false evidence or swearing to
false statements under oath or by any means procuring or instigating
any person to commit perjury. This offense also includes any officers
and employees of the Government listed under 13 U.S.C. sec sec
21-25 who willfully or knowingly furnish, or cause to be furnished, 
any false information or statement (for example, 2 U.S.C. sec 192; 13
U.S.C. sec 213; 15 U.S.C. sec 2614; 18 U.S.C. sec sec 401, 402,
1504, 1506, 1508, 1510, 1512(b), 1513, and 1622; 28 U.S.C. sec (g);
42 U.S.C. sec 5411; 43 U.S.C. sec 104; and 49A U.S.C. sec sec 1472
(m)(o)).

Personal recognizance -- pretrial release condition in which the
defendant promises to appear at trial and no financial conditions 
are required to be met.

Petty offense -- a Class B misdemeanor, a Class C misdemeanor, or
an infraction with fines as specified in 18 U.S.C. sec sec 3571. 
(See also, "Misdemeanor" and "Infraction.")

Plea bargaining -- practice whereby a defendant in a criminal
proceeding agrees to plead guilty to a charge in exchange for the
prosecution's cooperation in securing a more lenient sentence or
some other mitigation.

Pornographic -- that which is of or pertaining to obscene literature;
obscene, licentious. Material is pornographic or obscene if the average
person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that
the work taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest; and if it
depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct; and if the work
taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or 
scientific value. (See Milla v. California, 113 U.S. 15 (1973).)

Possession -- offense involving the possession of a controlled
substance, acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation or
fraud, attempting or conspiring to possess, or simple possession of a
controlled substance in schedules I-V (as defined by 21 U.S.C. sec
812). Includes possession of a controlled substance in schedule I or II,
or a narcotic drug in schedule III or IV on board a vessel of the United
States or vessels within custom waters of the United States, or by any
citizen of the United States on board a vessel. Also, possessing any
punch, die, plate, stone, or any other thing designed to reproduce the
label upon any drug or container is an offense under this category.
Distributing a small amount of marijuana for no remuneration is treated
as simple possession and, therefore, is included in this offense
category (for example, 21 U.S.C. sec sec 829 (a)(b)(c), 841(a)(b)(d)(g),
842(a)(c), 843(a), 844(a), 846, 955, and 962).

Postal laws -- offenses relating to the mail; pertaining to the post
office.

Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) -- following a presentence
investigation, a report to the court prepared by the probation officer
before the imposition of sentence, as required by law; unless the court
finds that there is information in the record sufficient to enable the
meaningful exercise of sentencing authority pursuant to 18 U.S.C. sec
3553, and the court explains this finding on the record.

Presentment -- an accusation initiated by the grand jury itself, and in
effect, an instruction that an indictment be drawn.

Pretrial diversion -- an agreement to defer (and possibly drop)
prosecution conditioned on the defendant's good behavior and/or
participation in programs (such as job training, counseling, education)
during a stated period.

Pretrial release -- the release of a defendant from custody, for all or
part of the time, before or during prosecution. The defendant may be
released either on personal recognizance or unsecured bond or on
financial conditions. The category includes defendants released within
2 days after arrest and defendants who were initially detained but
subsequently released after raising bail or having release conditions
changed at a subsequent hearing.

Probation -- sentence imposed for commission of a crime whereby
the convicted criminal offender is released into the community under
the supervision of a probation officer in lieu of incarceration. An 
act of clemency available only to those found eligible by the court, 
probation offers a chance for reform and rehabilitation for the 
defendant. For this purpose, the defendant must agree to specified 
standards of conduct; violation of such standards subjects his liberty
to revocation.  
 
Property offenses, fraudulent -- property offenses involving the
elements of deceit or intentional misrepresentation. Specifically
includes embezzlement, fraud (excluding tax fraud), forgery, and
counterfeiting.

Property offenses, non-fraudulent -- violent offenses against property:
burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson, transportation of
stolen property, and other property offenses (destruction of property
and trespassing). These offenses are termed "non-fraudulent" only for
the purpose of distinguishing them from the category "Property offenses,
fraudulent," above.

Property offenses, other -- offenses that involve the destruction of
property moving in interstate or foreign commerce in the possession of
a common or contract carrier. Includes the malicious destruction of
Government property, or injury to U.S. postal property such as
mailboxes or mailbags.  Trespassing on timber and Government lands
is also included in this category of offenses (for example, 2 U.S.C. 
sec 167(c)(g); 15 U.S.C. sec 1281; 16 U.S.C. sec sec 3, 45(d), 114, 121,
123, 152, 430(q), 433, 470, 478, 481, 551, and 605; 18 U.S.C. sec sec
1164, 1361-62, 1364, 1852, 1854, 1856, 1858, 1860, 1863, 1864(c),
and 2071(b); 40 U.S.C. sec sec 193 (h)(q)(r)(s); 43 U.S.C. sec 316;
and 47 U.S.C. sec sec 13 and 22). 

Public-order offenses, non-regulatory -- offenses concerning weapons;
immigration; tax law violations (tax fraud); bribery; perjury;
national defense; escape; racketeering and extortion; gambling; liquor;
mailing or transporting of obscene materials; traffic; migratory birds;
conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and jurisdictional offenses; and "other
public-order offenses." These offenses are termed "non-regulatory" only 
for the purpose of distinguishing them from the category "Public-order
offenses, regulatory" below.

Public-order offenses, other -- violations of laws pertaining to
bigamy, disorderly conduct on the U.S. Capitol grounds, civil disorder,
and travel to incite to riot (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 228, 231,
1367, and 1385; 40 U.S.C. sec sec 193(b)(d)(g)(o)(p); and 47 U.S.C.
sec sec 223(a)(b)).  Included in "Public-order offenses, non-regulatory."

Public-order offenses, regulatory -- violations of regulatory laws and
regulations in agriculture, antitrust, labor law, food and drug, motor
carrier, and other regulatory offenses that are not specifically listed 
in the category "Public-order offenses, non-regulatory."  

Racketeering and extortion -- racketeering is demanding, soliciting,
or receiving anything of value from the owner, proprietor or other
person having a financial interest in a business, by means of a threat
or promise, either express or implied. Extortion is the obtaining of
money or property from another, without his consent, induced by the
wrongful use of force or fear. This offense code covers using interstate
or foreign commerce or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce to
aid racketeering enterprises such as arson, bribery, gambling, liquor,
narcotics, prostitution, and extortionate credit transactions; obtaining
property or money from another, with his or her consent induced by
actual or threatened force; violence, blackmail, or committing unlawful
interference with employment or business; transmitting by interstate
commerce or through the mail any threat to injure the property, the
person, or the reputation of the addressee or of another; or kidnaping
any person with intent to extort. Applies to officers or employees of 
the United States, or anyone representing himself or herself as such (for
example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 831, 872, 874, 875(b)(d), 877, 878(b), 892,
894, 1365(d), 1952-53, 1955-60, 1962-63). 

Release

Extraordinary release -- unusual methods of prisoners exiting prison,
such as death, commutation, and transfer to another facility.
Standard release -- the usual way prisoners exit prison, including
full-term sentence expirations, expirations with good time, mandatory
releases, and releases to parole.

Remand -- to send back. The act of an appellate court in sending a
case back to the lower court for further action.

Remove -- transfer from Federal court (usually to a State court).

Restitution -- the action of restoring or giving back something to its
proper owner, or making reparations to one for loss or injury previously
inflicted.

Reversal -- the act of an appellate court annulling a judgment of a
lower court because of an error.

Revocation -- termination of a probation, parole, or mandatory release
order because of either a rule violation or a new offense, and forcing
the offender to begin or continue serving his or her sentence.

Robbery -- taking anything of value from the person or presence of
another by force or by intimidation, within the special maritime and
territorial jurisdiction of the United States (18 U.S.C. sec sec 7).
Includes robbery of bank property, U.S. postal property, or personal
property of the United States. Also, assaulting or putting the life of 
any person in jeopardy by the use of a dangerous weapon while committing 
or attempting to commit such robbery (for example, 18 U.S.C. sec sec 1661,
1991, 2112, 2113(c) (d), 2114, 2116, and 2118(a)). 

Rule 20 transfer -- upon petition by a defendant, a transfer of
proceedings to the district in which the defendant is arrested, when the
defendant is arrested, held, or present in a district other than that in
which an indictment or information is pending against him.  In this
case, the defendant may state in writing a wish to plead guilty or nolo
contendere, to waive trial in the district in which the indictment or
information is pending, and to consent to the disposition of the case in
the district in which the defendant was arrested (Fed. R. Crim. P. 20).

Rule 40 transfer -- upon petition by the U.S. attorney, commitment to
another district; transfer proceedings of a defendant arrested in a
district for an alleged offense committed in the another district 
(Fed. R. Crim. P. 40).

Sentence -- sanction imposed on a convicted offender. For sentences
to incarceration, the maximum time the offender may be held in
custody is reported. (See also, "Split sentence," "Mixed sentence,"
"Indeterminate sentence," and "Mandatory sentence.")

Sentencing Guidelines (Federal) -- guidelines established by the
United States Sentencing Commission to be followed by the Federal
courts in the sentencing of those convicted of Federal offenses.
Established pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the
sentencing guidelines prescribe a range of sentences for each class 
of convicted persons as determined by categories of offense behavior
and offender characteristics.

Sexual abuse -- rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and carnal
knowledge of a female under 16 who is not one's wife, within the
territorial and special maritime jurisdictions of the United States as
defined in 18 U.S.C. sec 7 (for example, 22D U.S.C. sec 2801). Also
includes cases of sexual abuse, including of a minor (18 U.S.C.
sec sec 2241(a) (c), 2242(2)(B), and 2243) and in Federal prisons (18
U.S.C. sec 2244(a)).

Shock incarceration -- an intense confinement program, consisting of
a highly regimented schedule that provides the strict discipline,
physical training, hard labor, drill, and ceremony characteristic of
military basic training. 

Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction -- areas of Federal
jurisdiction outside the jurisdiction of any State, including (1) the 
high seas, Great Lakes, and connecting waterways; (2) Federal lands; and
(3) U.S.-owned aircraft in flight over the high seas (18 U.S.C. sec 7).

Split sentence --  See, "Mixed sentence."

Stale -- the case/matter is too old to support successful prosecution.

Substantial assistance -- a form of cooperation with the government
in which the defendant provides the government with information,
testimony, or other assistance relating to the criminal activities of 
other persons in exchange for a sentence reduction.  Substantial 
assistance provides the only mechanism for judges to impose a sentence 
below an applicable mandatory sentence (U.S.S.G. 5K1.1 as codified at 18
U.S.C. sec 3553(e)).

Supervised release -- under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, a form 
of post-imprisonment supervision to be imposed by the court as a part 
of the sentence of imprisonment at the time of initial sentencing.
Unlike parole, a term of supervised release does not replace a portion
of the sentence of imprisonment, but rather is an order of supervision
in addition to any term of imprisonment imposed by the court (compare
also with probation).

Surety bond -- an agreement by the defendant as a condition of his or
her release that requires a third party (usually a bail bondsman) to
promise to pay the full bail amount in the event that the defendant 
fails to appear.

Suspect -- a person who is under investigation or interrogation as a
likely perpetrator of a specific criminal offense.

Tax law violations -- tax fraud offenses such as income tax evasion
and fraud; counterfeiting any stamps with intent to defraud the
collection or payment of tax; willfully failing to collect or pay tax; 
failure to obey summons to produce any papers concerning taxes; failing 
to furnish receipts for employees of tax withheld; failing to furnish
information relating to certain trusts, annuity, and bond purchase
plans; putting fraudulent or false statements on tax returns; and not
obtaining a license for a business that makes a profit from foreign
items. Also included in this offense category are violations of excise
and wagering tax laws and any other laws listed below from the
Internal Revenue Service Code (for example, 26 U.S.C. sec sec 3402,
4412, 5751, 5762(a1), 6047(a)(c), 6331, 6420(e2), 6674, 7121, 7201,
7203(c), 7204, 7206(a)(c), 7208(a)(c), 7210, 7213(b), (d), 7214(b),
7216, 7232, 7513, 7602, and 7604(b)). 

Technical violation -- failure to comply with any of the conditions of
pretrial release, probation, or parole, excluding alleged new criminal
activity.  May result in revocation of release status. Examples of
conditions that may be imposed and then violated include remaining
within a specified jurisdiction or appearing at specified intervals for
drug tests.

Termination -- at the pretrial services stage:  execution of sentence,
acquittal, dismissal, diversion, or fugitive status; in the U.S. district
court:  conviction, acquittal, or dismissal; and at probation or
supervised release:  the removal of a person from supervision either
for successful completion of the term of supervision or as the result of
a revocation. 

Threats against the President -- knowingly and willfully depositing in
the mail, at any post office, or by any letter carrier a letter, paper,
writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the
life of or to inflict bodily harm upon the President, Vice President, or
any other officer in order of succession to the Presidency.  Knowingly
and willfully making such threats in any way to the above-named
people (18 U.S.C. sec 871). 

Traffic offenses -- driving while intoxicated, or any moving or parking
violations on Federal lands (for example, 40 U.S.C. sec 212(b)).

Trafficking -- knowingly and intentionally importing or exporting any
controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V (as defined by 21
U.S.C. sec 812). Includes manufacturing, distributing, dispensing,
selling, or possessing with intent to manufacture, distribute, or sell a
controlled substance or a counterfeit substance; exporting any
controlled substance in schedules I-V; manufacturing or distributing a
controlled substance in schedule I or II for purposes of unlawful
importation; or making or distributing any punch, die, plate, stone, or
any other thing designed to reproduce the label upon any drug or
container, or removing or obliterating the label or symbol of any drug or
container. Also includes knowingly opening, maintaining or managing
any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any
controlled substance (for example, 19 U.S.C. sec 1590; 21 U.S.C.
sec sec 333(e), 825(a)-(d), 830(a), 841(a)-(b) (d)(e)(g), 842(a),
843(a)(b), 845, 846, 848, 854, 856, 858, 859(a)(b), 860(a), 861(c)(f),
952(a)(b), 953(a)(e), 957, 959, 960(a)(b)(d), 961, 962, and 963; and
46A U.S.C. sec sec 1903(g) and (j)).

Transportation -- violations of the Federal statutes relating to the
Motor Carrier Act, which regulates (routes, rates) motor carriers of
freight and passengers in interstate commerce.

Transportation of stolen property -- transporting, selling, or receiving
stolen goods, stolen securities, stolen moneys, stolen cattle, fraudulent
State tax stamps, or articles used in counterfeiting, if the above 
articles or goods involve or constitute interstate or foreign commerce 
(18 U.S.C. sec sec 2315, 2317). 

Trial conviction -- conviction by judge or jury after trial.

True bill -- an indictment.

United States -- includes the outlying territories (Guam, Puerto Rico,
Northern Marianas Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the
territory occupied by the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

U.S. attorneys -- all United States attorneys. Prosecutorial data in this
Compendium come from the Central System and Central Charge Files of the
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

Unsecured bond -- an agreement by the defendant as a condition of
his or her release in which the defendant agrees to pay full bond
amount in the event of nonappearance at trial, but is not required to
post security as a condition to release.

Violation (of pretrial release, probation, or parole) -- allegation of a
new crime or a technical violation while on pretrial release, probation,
or parole.

Violent offenses -- threatening, attempting, or actually using physical
force against a person. Includes murder, negligent manslaughter,
assault, robbery, sexual abuse, kidnaping, and threats against the
President. (See also, specific offenses for citations.)

Weapons violations -- violations of any of the provisions of 18 U.S.C.
sec sec 922 and 923 concerning the manufacturing, importing, possessing,
receiving, and licensing of firearms and ammunition. Includes 
manufacturing, selling, possessing, or transporting (within any territory 
or possession of the United States, within Indian country, or within the
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States) (18 
U.S.C. sec sec 7) any switchblade knife; or making, receiving, possessing,
or transporting a firearm not registered in the National Firearms 
Registration Transfer Record. Also, engaging in importing, manufacturing, 
or dealing in firearms if not registered with the secretary in the Internal
Revenue Service District in which the business is conducted or not having 
paid a special occupational tax. In addition, this code covers cases where 
in a crime of violence or drug trafficking enhanced punishment is handed 
down when committed with a deadly weapon (for example, 15 U.S.C. sec 1242; 
18 U.S.C. sec sec 922(a)(c)(e) (g)(i)(k)(m)(n)(q), 923, 924(a)(c)(f)(h) and
930; 26 U.S.C. sec sec 5801, 5811, 5821, 5841, 5843, 5851, and 
5861(b)(d)(h)(j)(l); 40 U.S.C. sec 193f(a); and 49A U.S.C. sec 1472(q)).

End of file
08/17/04 ih