A Federal Justice Statistics report

 Prosecution

 Adjudication

 Sentencing 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Federal Criminal Case

Processing, 1982-93

With Preliminary Data for 1994

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Federal Criminal Case

Processing, 1982-93

With Preliminary Data for 1994

May 1996, NCJ-160088

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

This Bureau of Justice Statistics report is based

on data tabulations prepared by William J.

Sabol of the Urban Institute with assistance from

Jeffrey A. Roth, Harvey Meyerson, Yingjie Shu, 

Xiaoqang Ren, William Adams, and Daryl

Herrschaft. Layout and design were by O. Jay

Arwood. The project is supported by BJS grant

number 95-BJ-CX-K001. Steven K. Smith and

John Scalia, Jr., of BJS supervised the project.

Tom Hester provided editorial review.

This report is made possible through the cooperation of three Federal agencies and their staff.

The agencies providing source records are: The

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA),

the Administrative Office of the United States

Courts (AOUSC), and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Their staff who provided expert advice about the source records include: Eileen

Menton and Vernon Bryant (EOUSA); Steven

Schlesinger, Catherine Whitaker, Thomas Bak,

Kevin Jackson, Virginia Salter, and Patrick

Walker (AOUSC); and Gerald Gaes, Christopher

Innes, and Anthony J. Iwaszko (BOP).

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.

An electronic version of this report and

the data analyzed in the report may be

found on the Internet at:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

ii Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Data tables 1

Methodology 19

Explanatory notes 21

Glossary 23

Prosecution

Suspects in criminal matters concluded:

1. Number of suspects in criminal matters concluded 1

2. Number prosecuted in U.S. district court 2

3. Percent who were prosecuted in U.S. district court 3

4. Number whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute 4

5. Percent whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute 5

6. Number referred to U.S. magistrates 6

7. Percent referred to U.S. magistrates 7

Adjudication

Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court:

8. Number of defendants in cases terminated 8

9. Number convicted 9

10. Percent convicted 10

11. Number whose cases were dismissed 11

12. Percent whose cases were dismissed 12

Defendants in matters disposed by U.S. magistrates:

13. Number of defendants convicted 13

14. Percent convicted 14

Sentencing

Offenders convicted in cases terminated in U.S. district

court:

15. Number of offenders sentenced to prison, 15

16. Percent sentenced to prison, 16

17. Mean length of prison sentences, 17

Corrections

Released prisoners with U.S. district court sentences:

18. Average time served until first release, 18

Contents iii

Contents List of data tables

Table 1. Suspects in criminal matters concluded, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Number of suspects in criminal matters concluded

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 77,794 94,548 104,248 109,948 113,940 109,851 110,671

Violent offenses 4,674 4,480 5,074 5,076 5,693 6,013 6,192

Murder/manslaugter 294 336 462 254 319 402 366

Assault 941 1,008 1,090 1,023 1,113 1,140 1,190

Robbery 2,966 2,257 2,636 2,722 3,104 3,372 3,416

Rape 28 247 222 367 407 461 567

Other sex offenses 66 355 374 392 394 337 312

Kidnaping 191 169 172 216 226 213 233

Threats against the President 188 108 118 102 130 88 108

Property offenses 27,148 27,468 31,844 32,441 33,975 33,503 34,424

Fraudulent 22,086 23,675 28,384 28,765 30,470 29,152 30,073

Embezzlement 5,195 5,339 5,575 5,516 5,703 5,256 5,229

Fraudb 12,974 15,633 19,930 20,850 22,190 21,914 22,717

Forgery 3,893 2,631 2,742 2,254 2,391 1,796 1,909

Counterfeiting 24 72 137 145 186 186 218

Other 5,062 3,793 3,460 3,676 3,505 4,351 4,351

Burglary 112 99 89 81 75 93 62

Larceny 2,829 2,442 2,240 2,408 2,154 2,135 2,134

Motor vehicle theft 952 810 684 679 711 725 913

Arson and explosives 24 16 18 29 21 813 727

Transportation of stolen property 151 71 147 153 160 208 170

Other property offenses 994 355 282 326 384 377 345

Drug offenses 12,186 25,801 31,954 33,265 35,108 36,457 34,396

Public-order offenses 31,799 35,783 34,068 37,392 37,100 33,878 33,113

Regulatory 5,888 7,824 8,073 8,556 8,184 6,055 5,556

Agriculture 459 615 588 612 478 428 436

Antitrust 133 122 97 103 108 111 81

Fair labor standards 27 40 34 39 40 42 54

Food and drug 441 624 531 303 226 300 228

Motor carrier 136 190 137 98 102 249 294

Other regulatory offenses 4,692 6,233 6,686 7,401 7,230 4,925 4,463

Other 25,911 27,959 25,995 28,836 28,916 27,823 27,557

Weapons 2,729 3,627 4,455 5,446 6,917 7,760 7,660

Immigration offenses 5,943 7,058 7,779 8,596 6,992 6,170 5,626

Tax law violationsc 1,817 2,098 1,882 1,901 1,865 1,646 1,670

Bribery 443 567 674 712 779 562 549

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 236 255 303 282 322 631 729

National defense 579 620 700 720 543 475 455

Escape 3,269 3,466 3,858 3,774 3,931 3,698 3,894

Racketeering and extortion 1,631 1,896 2,041 2,766 3,055 3,289 3,440

Gambling offenses 149 330 282 463 379 394 331

Liquor offenses 40 34 15 25 25 26 23

Mail or transport of obscene material 44 134 159 138 134 77 79

Migratory birds 1,133 950 909 751 462 363 231

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 7,737 6,108 2,143 2,455 2,579 2,604 2,733

All other offenses 161 816 795 807 933 128 137

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 1
Table 2. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Number prosecuted in U.S. district court, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Number of suspects prosecuted in U.S. district court

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 44,144 54,764 58,160 60,521 62,112 66,502 63,869

Violent offenses 3,356 3,064 3,358 3,425 3,761 4,242 4,154

Murder/manslaugter 242 213 250 166 200 288 237

Assault 540 600 595 573 554 590 595

Robbery 2,331 1,765 2,061 2,134 2,460 2,810 2,828

Rape 22 152 151 216 226 248 239

Other sex offenses 26 197 174 192 171 143 111

Kidnaping 113 91 76 105 111 130 115

Threats against the President 82 46 51 39 39 33 29

Property offenses 14,628 14,612 16,214 16,289 15,953 17,585 17,707

Fraudulent 11,912 12,273 14,251 14,266 14,096 15,066 15,225

Embezzlement 2,976 3,191 2,813 2,714 2,840 2,810 2,646

Fraudb 6,458 7,481 9,745 10,230 9,867 11,087 11,350

Forgery 2,467 1,548 1,608 1,242 1,280 1,047 1,074

Counterfeiting 11 53 85 80 109 122 155

Other 2,716 2,339 1,963 2,023 1,857 2,519 2,482

Burglary 85 71 62 53 51 54 35

Larceny 1,780 1,545 1,316 1,398 1,225 1,273 1,247

Motor vehicle theft 564 493 376 343 341 429 559

Arson and explosives 13 8 7 12 7 502 396

Transportation of stolen property 89 25 77 83 86 116 98

Other property offenses 185 197 125 134 147 145 147

Drug offenses 9,906 19,725 24,278 25,094 25,663 28,479 25,661

Public-order offenses 15,167 16,921 13,833 14,936 15,872 16,196 15,965

Regulatory 2,417 3,064 2,965 2,768 2,733 1,853 1,626

Agriculture 233 418 278 233 275 254 210

Antitrust 121 100 83 50 73 60 62

Fair labor standards 14 19 12 21 19 22 26

Food and drug 293 494 395 172 125 213 154

Motor carrier 70 86 45 54 43 98 121

Other regulatory offenses 1,686 1,947 2,152 2,238 2,198 1,066 1,053

Other 12,750 13,857 10,868 12,168 13,139 14,343 14,339

Weapons 1,970 2,479 2,892 3,627 4,838 5,613 5,365

Immigration offenses 2,184 2,289 2,429 2,676 2,436 2,611 2,822

Tax law violationsc 1,338 1,436 1,304 1,248 1,139 1,150 1,182

Bribery 184 209 265 290 323 272 274

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 141 144 159 158 155 325 385

National defense 245 198 300 281 211 207 241

Escape 919 1,002 1,008 894 807 769 843

Racketeering and extortion 786 926 892 1,232 1,237 1,626 1,820

Gambling offenses 83 246 203 291 201 269 151

Liquor offenses 25 21 12 16 14 9 6

Mail or transport of obscene material 14 78 79 65 53 33 24

Migratory birds 137 667 110 55 43 29 43

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 4,709 3,746 777 860 1,086 1,361 1,110

All other offenses 15 416 438 475 596 69 73

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

2 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 3. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Percent who were prosecuted, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Percent of suspects prosecuted in U.S. district court

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 56.7% 57.9% 55.8% 55.0% 54.5% 60.5% 58.7% 

Violent offenses 71.8% 68.4% 66.2% 67.5% 66.1% 70.5% 67.1%

Murder/manslaugter 82.3 63.4 54.1 65.4 62.7 71.6 64.8

Assault 57.4 59.5 54.6 56.0 49.8 51.8 50.0

Robbery 78.6 78.2 78.2 78.4 79.3 83.3 82.8

Rape 78.6 61.5 68.0 58.9 55.5 53.8 42.2

Other sex offenses 39.4 55.5 46.5 49.0 43.4 42.4 35.6

Kidnaping 59.2 53.8 44.2 48.6 49.1 61.0 49.4

Threats against the President 43.6 42.6 43.2 38.2 30.0 37.5 26.9

Property offenses 53.9% 53.2% 50.9% 50.2% 47.0% 52.5% 51.4%

Fraudulent 53.9% 51.8% 50.2% 49.6% 46.3% 51.7% 50.6%

Embezzlement 57.3 59.8 50.5 49.2 49.8 53.5 50.6

Fraudb 49.8 47.9 48.9 49.1 44.5 50.6 50.0

Forgery 63.4 58.8 58.6 55.1 53.5 58.3 56.3

Counterfeiting 45.8 73.6 62.0 55.2 58.6 65.6 71.1

Other 53.7% 61.7% 56.7% 55.0% 53.0% 57.9% 57.0%

Burglary 75.9 71.7 69.7 65.4 68.0 58.1 56.5

Larceny 62.9 63.3 58.8 58.1 56.9 59.6 58.4

Motor vehicle theft 59.2 60.9 55.0 50.5 48.0 59.2 61.2

Arson and explosives 54.2 — — 41.4 33.3 61.7 54.5

Transportation of stolen property 58.9 35.2 52.4 54.2 53.8 55.8 57.6

Other property offenses 18.6 55.5 44.3 41.1 38.3 38.5 42.6

Drug offenses 81.3% 76.5% 76.0% 75.4% 73.1% 78.1% 74.6%

Public-order offenses 47.7% 47.3% 40.6% 39.9% 42.8% 47.8% 48.2%

Regulatory 41.0% 39.2% 36.7% 32.4% 33.4% 30.6% 29.3%

Agriculture 50.8 68.0 47.3 38.1 57.5 59.3 48.2

Antitrust 91.0 82.0 85.6 48.5 67.6 54.1 76.5

Fair labor standards 51.9 47.5 35.3 53.8 47.5 52.4 52.0

Food and drug 66.4 79.2 74.4 56.8 55.3 71.0 67.5

Motor carrier 51.5 45.3 32.8 55.1 42.2 39.4 41.2

Other regulatory offenses 35.9 31.2 32.2 30.2 30.4 21.6 23.6

Other 49.2% 49.6% 41.8% 42.2% 45.4% 51.6% 52.0%

Weapons 72.2 68.3 64.9 66.6 69.9 72.3 70.0

Immigration offenses 36.7 32.4 31.2 31.1 34.8 42.3 50.2

Tax law violationsc 73.6 68.4 69.3 65.6 61.1 69.9 70.8

Bribery 41.5 36.9 39.3 40.7 41.5 48.4 49.9

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 59.7 56.5 52.5 56.0 48.1 51.5 52.8

National defense 42.3 31.9 42.9 39.0 38.9 43.6 53.0

Escape 28.1 28.9 26.1 23.7 20.5 20.8 21.6

Racketeering and extortion 48.2 48.8 43.7 44.5 40.5 49.4 52.9

Gambling offenses 55.7 74.5 72.0 62.9 53.0 68.3 45.6

Liquor offenses 62.5 61.8 — 64.0 56.0 34.6 26.1

Mail or transport of obscene material 31.8 58.2 49.7 47.1 39.6 42.9 30.4

Migratory birds 12.1 70.2 12.1 7.3 9.3 8.0 18.6

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 60.9 61.3 36.3 35.0 42.1 52.3 40.6

All other offenses 9.3 51.0 55.1 58.9 63.9 53.9 53.3

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. c

Includes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

Data tables 3
Table 4. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Number whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Number of suspects whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 20,912 28,825 32,855 35,239 40,288 32,126 33,678

Violent offenses 929 1,206 1,436 1,409 1,680 1,474 1,745

Murder/manslaugter 36 118 204 78 107 110 124

Assault 227 291 352 344 456 391 430

Robbery 491 433 484 502 551 470 506

Rape 5 94 64 142 162 204 322

Other sex offenses 40 151 191 194 223 183 194

Kidnaping 58 72 83 98 101 67 97

Threats against the President 72 47 58 51 80 49 72

Property offenses 10,015 11,277 13,875 14,237 16,494 14,031 14,508

Fraudulent 8,772 10,090 12,674 12,891 15,106 12,507 12,953

Embezzlement 1,691 1,805 2,333 2,299 2,494 1,860 2,014

Fraudb 5,955 7,379 9,328 9,711 11,623 10,027 10,278

Forgery 1,071 896 971 824 932 567 613

Counterfeiting 5 10 42 57 57 53 48

Other 1,293 1,187 1,201 1,346 1,388 1,524 1,555

Burglary 22 25 23 25 23 31 25

Larceny 744 724 747 850 786 674 710

Motor vehicle theft 342 309 285 309 352 273 320

Arson and explosives 9 8 10 14 14 297 319

Transportation of stolen property 55 45 67 57 68 84 72

Other property offenses 121 76 69 91 145 165 109

Drug offenses 1,520 4,705 5,974 6,413 7,814 6,204 6,672

Public-order offenses 7,954 11,146 10,870 12,374 13,341 10,417 10,472

Regulatory 2,562 4,301 4,419 5,184 5,037 3,888 3,701

Agriculture 76 167 200 219 156 140 192

Antitrust 12 22 14 47 35 51 19

Fair labor standards 11 21 22 17 21 20 25

Food and drug 110 59 110 95 82 59 56

Motor carrier 54 102 85 39 56 147 169

Other regulatory offenses 2,299 3,930 3,988 4,767 4,687 3,471 3,240

Other 5,392 6,845 6,451 7,190 8,304 6,529 6,771

Weapons 650 1,069 1,427 1,630 1,891 1,964 2,112

Immigration offenses 442 240 286 283 360 266 236

Tax law violationsc 401 649 543 611 687 451 437

Bribery 245 325 387 404 434 278 262

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 88 110 140 122 163 264 322

National defense 188 307 214 227 228 146 128

Escape 995 1,160 1,254 1,209 1,387 823 840

Racketeering and extortion 795 941 1,123 1,487 1,773 1,612 1,573

Gambling offenses 58 82 79 166 175 125 180

Liquor offenses 14 13 2 8 11 17 16

Mail or transport of obscene material 27 54 80 67 81 44 54

Migratory birds 84 67 85 120 119 71 37

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 1,324 1,587 587 649 776 417 520

All other offenses 81 241 244 207 219 51 54

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud. a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

4 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 5. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Percent whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Percent of suspects whom U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 26.9% 30.5% 31.5% 32.1% 35.4% 29.2% 30.9%

Violent offenses 19.9% 26.9% 28.3% 27.8% 29.5% 24.5% 28.2%

Murder/manslaugter 12.2 35.1 44.2 30.7 33.5 27.4 33.9

Assault 24.1 28.9 32.3 33.6 41.0 34.3 36.1

Robbery 16.6 19.2 18.4 18.4 17.8 13.9 14.8

Rape 17.9 38.1 28.8 38.7 39.8 44.3 56.8

Other sex offenses 60.6 42.5 51.1 49.5 56.6 54.3 62.2

Kidnaping 30.4 42.6 48.3 45.4 44.7 31.5 41.6

Threats against the President 38.3 43.5 49.2 50.0 61.5 55.7 66.7

Property offenses 36.9% 41.1% 43.6% 43.9% 48.5% 41.9% 42.1%

Fraudulent 39.5% 42.6% 44.7% 44.8% 49.6% 42.9% 43.1%

Embezzlement 32.6 33.8 41.8 41.7 43.7 35.4 38.5

Fraudb 45.9 47.2 46.8 46.6 52.4 45.8 45.2

Forgery 27.5 34.1 35.4 36.6 39.0 31.6 32.1

Counterfeiting 20.8 13.9 30.7 39.3 30.6 28.5 22.0

Other 25.5% 31.3% 34.7% 36.6% 39.6% 35.0% 35.7%

Burglary 19.6 25.3 25.8 30.9 30.7 33.3 40.3

Larceny 26.3 29.6 33.3 35.3 36.5 31.6 33.3

Motor vehicle theft 35.9 38.1 41.7 45.5 49.5 37.7 35.0

Arson and explosives 37.5 — — 48.3 66.7 36.5 43.9

Transportation of stolen property 36.4 63.4 45.6 37.3 42.5 40.4 42.4

Other property offenses 12.2 21.4 24.5 27.9 37.8 43.8 31.6

Drug offenses 12.5% 18.2% 18.7% 19.3% 22.3% 17.0% 19.4%

Public-order offenses 25.0% 31.1% 31.9% 33.1% 36.0% 30.7% 31.6%

Regulatory 43.5% 55.0% 54.7% 60.6% 61.5% 64.2% 66.6%

Agriculture 16.6 27.2 34.0 35.8 32.6 32.7 44.0

Antitrust 9.0 18.0 14.4 45.6 32.4 45.9 23.5

Fair labor standards 40.7 52.5 64.7 43.6 52.5 47.6 46.3

Food and drug 24.9 9.5 20.7 31.4 36.3 19.7 24.6

Motor carrier 39.7 53.7 62.0 39.8 54.9 59.0 57.5

Other regulatory offenses 49.0 63.1 59.6 64.4 64.8 70.5 72.6

Other 20.8% 24.5% 24.8% 24.9% 28.7% 23.5% 24.6%

Weapons 23.8 29.5 32.0 29.9 27.3 25.3 27.6

Immigration offenses 7.4 3.4 3.7 3.3 5.1 4.3 4.2

Tax law violationsc 22.1 30.9 28.9 32.1 36.8 27.4 26.2

Bribery 55.3 57.3 57.4 56.7 55.7 49.5 47.7

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 37.3 43.1 46.2 43.3 50.6 41.8 44.2

National defense 32.5 49.5 30.6 31.5 42.0 30.7 28.1

Escape 30.4 33.5 32.5 32.0 35.3 22.3 21.6

Racketeering and extortion 48.7 49.6 55.0 53.8 58.0 49.0 45.7

Gambling offenses 38.9 24.8 28.0 35.9 46.2 31.7 54.4

Liquor offenses 35.0 38.2 — 32.0 44.0 65.4 69.6

Mail or transport of obscene material 61.4 40.3 50.3 48.6 60.4 57.1 68.4

Migratory birds 7.4 7.1 9.4 16.0 25.8 19.6 16.0

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 17.1 26.0 27.4 26.4 30.1 16.0 19.0

All other offenses 50.3 29.5 30.7 25.7 23.5 39.8 39.4

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. c

Includes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

Data tables 5
Table 6. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Number who were referred to U.S. magistrates, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Number of suspects who were referred to U.S. magistrates

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 12,738 10,959 13,233 14,188 11,540 11,223 11,307

Violent offenses 389 210 280 242 252 297 293

Murder/manslaugter 16 5 8 10 12 4 5

Assault 174 117 143 106 103 159 165

Robbery 144 59 91 86 93 92 82

Rape 1 1 7 9 19 9 6

Other sex offenses 0 7 9 6 0 11 7

Kidnaping 20 6 13 13 14 16 21

Threats against the President 34 15 9 12 11 6 7

Property offenses 2,505 1,579 1,755 1,915 1,528 1,887 2,209

Fraudulent 1,452 1,312 1,459 1,608 1,268 1,579 1,895

Embezzlement 528 343 429 503 369 586 569

Fraudb 561 773 857 909 700 800 1,089

Forgery 355 187 163 188 179 182 222

Counterfeiting 8 9 10 8 20 11 15

Other 1,053 267 296 307 260 308 314

Burglary 5343182

Larceny 305 173 177 160 143 188 177

Motor vehicle theft 46 8 23 27 18 23 34

Arson and explosives 2 0 1 3 0 14 12

Transportation of stolen property 7 1 3 13 6 8 0

Other property offenses 688 82 88 101 92 67 89

Drug offenses 760 1,371 1,702 1,758 1,631 1,774 2,063

Public-order offenses 8,678 7,716 9,365 10,082 7,887 7,265 6,676

Regulatory 909 459 689 604 414 314 229

Agriculture 150 30 110 160 47 34 34

Antitrust 0006000

Fair labor standards 2001003

Food and drug 38 71 26 36 19 28 18

Motor carrier 12 2 7 5 3 4 4

Other regulatory offenses 707 356 546 396 345 248 170

Other 8,678 7,257 8,676 9,478 7,473 6,951 6,447

Weapons 109 79 136 189 188 183 183

Immigration offenses 3,317 4,529 5,064 5,637 4,196 3,293 2,568

Tax law violationsc 78 13 35 42 39 45 51

Bribery 14 33 22 18 22 12 13

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 7 1 4 2 4 42 22

National defense 146 115 186 212 104 122 86

Escape 1,355 1,304 1,596 1,671 1,737 2,106 2,211

Racketeering and extortion 50 29 26 47 45 51 47

Gambling offenses 8206300

Liquor offenses 1011001

Mail or transport of obscene material 3206001

Migratory birds 912 216 714 576 300 263 151

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 1,704 775 779 946 717 826 1,103

All other offenses 85 159 113 125 118 8 10

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

6 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 7. Suspects in criminal matters concluded: Percent referred to U.S. magistrates, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense investigated

Percent of suspects who were referred to U.S. magistrates

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 16.4% 11.6% 12.7% 12.9% 10.1% 10.2% 10.4%

Violent offenses 8.3% 4.7% 5.5% 4.8% 4.4% 4.9% 4.7%

Murder/manslaugter 5.4 1.5 1.7 3.9 3.8 1.0 1.4

Assault 18.5 11.6 13.1 10.4 9.3 13.9 13.9

Robbery 4.9 2.6 3.5 3.2 3.0 2.7 2.4

Rape 3.6 0.4 3.2 2.5 4.7 2.0 1.1

Other sex offenses 0 2.0 2.4 1.5 0 3.3 2.2

Kidnaping 10.5 3.6 7.6 6.0 6.2 7.5 9.0

Threats against the President 18.1 13.9 7.6 11.8 8.5 6.8 6.5

Property offenses 9.2% 5.7% 5.5% 5.9% 4.5% 5.6% 6.4%

Fraudulent 6.6% 5.5% 5.1% 5.6% 4.2% 5.4% 6.3%

Embezzlement 10.2 6.4 7.7 9.1 6.5 11.1 10.9

Fraudb 4.3 4.9 4.3 4.4 3.2 3.7 4.8

Forgery 9.1 7.1 5.9 8.3 7.5 10.1 11.6

Counterfeiting 33.3 12.5 7.3 5.5 10.8 5.9 6.9

Other 20.8% 7.0% 8.6% 8.4% 7.4% 7.1% 7.2%

Burglary 4.5 3.0 4.5 3.7 1.3 8.6 3.2

Larceny 10.8 7.1 7.9 6.6 6.6 8.8 8.3

Motor vehicle theft 4.8 1.0 3.4 4.0 2.5 3.2 3.7

Arson and explosives 8.3 — — 10.3 0 1.7 1.7

Transportation of stolen property 4.6 1.4 2.0 8.5 3.8 3.8 0

Other property offenses 69.2 23.1 31.2 31.0 24.0 17.8 25.8

Drug offenses 6.2% 5.3% 5.3% 5.3% 4.6% 4.9% 6.0%

Public-order offenses 27.3% 21.6% 27.5% 27.0% 21.3% 21.4% 20.2%

Regulatory 15.4% 5.9% 8.5% 7.1% 5.1% 5.2% 4.1%

Agriculture 32.7 4.9 18.7 26.1 9.8 7.9 7.8

Antitrust 0 0 0 5.8 0 0 0

Fair labor standards 7.4 0 0 2.6 0 — —

Food and drug 8.6 11.4 4.9 11.9 8.4 9.3 7.9

Motor carrier 8.8 1.1 5.1 5.1 2.9 1.6 1.4

Other regulatory offenses 15.1 5.7 8.2 5.4 4.8 5.0 3.8

Other 30.0% 26.0% 33.4% 32.9% 25.8% 25.0% 23.4%

Weapons 4.0 2.2 3.1 3.5 2.7 2.4 2.4

Immigration offenses 55.8 64.2 65.1 65.6 60.0 53.4 45.6

Tax law violationsc 4.3 0.6 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.7 3.1

Bribery 3.2 5.8 3.3 2.5 2.8 2.1 2.4

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 3.0 0.4 1.3 0.7 1.2 6.7 3.0

National defense 25.2 18.5 26.6 29.4 19.2 25.7 18.9

Escape 41.4 37.6 41.4 44.3 44.2 56.9 56.8

Racketeering and extortion 3.1 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.4

Gambling offenses 5.4 0.6 0 1.3 0.8 0 0

Liquor offenses 2.5 0 — 4.0 0 0 4.3

Mail or transport of obscene material 6.8 1.5 0 4.3 0 0 1.3

Migratory birds 80.5 22.7 78.5 76.7 64.9 72.5 65.4

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 22.0 12.7 36.4 38.5 27.8 31.7 40.4

All other offenses 40.4 19.5 14.2 0.2 0.1 6.3 7.3

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. c

Includes tax fraud.

a

Total may include suspects for whom offense category could not be

determined.

Data tables 7
Table 8. Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court, 1982, 1988-93 (with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious 

offense charged

Number of defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 42,739 54,198 57,672 58,704 60,193 63,115 64,640 59,351

Violent offenses 3,111 2,697 2,805 2,857 3,124 3,601 3,581 3,355

Murder 187 135 173 196 188 193 193 349

Manslaughter 6 32 42 26 26 36 25 21

Assault 637 631 575 658 658 669 580 559

Robbery 1,925 1,326 1,489 1,465 1,706 2,141 2,252 1,955

Rape 81 163 181 197 250 258 247 222

Other sex offenses 70 299 198 205 175 181 125 121

Kidnaping 100 70 99 74 87 95 136 100

Threats against the President 105 41 48 36 34 29 23 28

Property offenses 15,340 16,261 16,188 16,128 15,749 16,876 17,440 15,628

Fraudulent 10,514 11,553 11,489 11,571 10,931 11,789 12,360 10,827

Embezzlement 2,224 2,137 2,042 2,117 2,037 2,067 1,940 1,491

Fraudb 5,244 7,297 7,442 7,686 7,278 8,128 9,000 7,903

Forgery 2,048 1,316 1,300 1,144 966 931 750 640

Counterfeiting 998 803 705 624 650 662 670 793

Other offenses 4,826 4,708 4,699 4,557 4,818 5,087 5,080 4,801

Burglary 167 118 126 127 156 157 213 168

Larceny 3,228 3,488 3,580 3,561 3,790 3,959 3,773 3,535

Motor vehicle theft 573 521 405 323 312 402 501 456

Arson 11 9 15 4 7 8 9 8

Transportation of stolen property 616 347 343 313 320 354 328 385

Other property offenses 231 225 230 229 233 207 256 249

Drug offenses 8,987 16,710 19,750 20,035 21,203 22,728 24,127 20,809

Trafficking 7,219 14,775 17,737 18,651 19,952 21,511 22,690 19,217

Possession and other 1,768 1,935 2,013 1,384 1,251 1,217 1,437 1,592

Public-order offenses 15,301 18,524 18,916 19,684 20,115 19,910 19,484 19,556

Regulatory 1,965 2,254 2,287 2,316 2,713 2,550 2,515 2,371

Agriculture 252 332 337 300 358 346 264 213

Antitrust 203 210 154 95 117 85 103 86

Fair labor standards 28 30 23 30 33 44 51 50

Food and drug 119 61 86 100 76 97 143 77

Motor carrier 72 72 57 56 62 32 32 13

Other regulatory offenses 1,291 1,549 1,630 1,735 2,067 1,947 1,922 1,932

Other Offenses 13,336 16,270 16,629 17,368 17,402 17,360 16,969 17,185

Weapons 2,009 2,127 2,434 2,771 3,629 4,643 3,799 3,463

Immigration offenses 2,410 2,077 2,622 2,841 2,559 2,665 2,911 2,804

Tax law violationsc 1,256 1,467 1,164 1,187 1,106 1,131 1,140 961

Bribery 217 245 298 270 299 341 288 313

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 144 122 141 128 148 104 138 122

National defense 131 163 197 138 151 181 126 131

Escape 839 769 814 795 721 653 626 651

Racketeering and extortion 598 648 604 529 567 715 891 885

Gambling offenses 170 214 229 256 305 270 242 215

Liquor offenses 31 10 16 28 4 32 14 5

Mail or transport of obscene material 21 55 56 85 44 51 51 28

Traffic 5,293 8,176 7,765 8,096 7,527 6,320 6,324 7,192

Migratory birds 94 52 101 87 62 58 40 33

Other 123 145 188 157 280 196 379 382

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be determined. bExcludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

8 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 9. Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Number convicted, 1982, 1988-93 (with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious offense 

of conviction

Number of defendants convicted

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 34,193 43,550 46,805 47,494 48,946 52,348 53,435 48,678

Violent offenses 2,354 2,139 2,180 2,331 2,513 2,942 3,077 2,927

Murder/manslaugter 110 93 102 133 123 125 151 297

Manslaughter 10 27 48 23 31 28 18 19

Assault 435 448 398 455 420 437 432 403

Robbery 1,564 1,127 1,266 1,337 1,527 1,918 2,082 1,824

Rape 48 116 130 149 192 202 198 178

Other sex offenses 59 252 145 159 137 150 95 98

Kidnaping 66 48 58 53 67 63 87 87

Threats against the President 62 28 33 22 16 18 14 21

Property offenses 12,781 13,436 13,552 13,593 13,178 14,330 14,758 13,201

Fraudulent 8,792 9,583 9,918 10,127 9,473 10,334 10,764 9,466

Embezzlement 1,971 1,775 1,796 1,833 1,759 1,757 1,713 1,311

Fraudb 4,515 6,193 6,533 6,881 6,412 7,272 7,824 6,909

Forgery 1,470 1,007 1,019 907 749 732 627 536

Counterfeiting 836 608 570 506 553 574 600 710

Other offenses 3,989 3,853 3,634 3,466 3,705 3,995 3,994 3,735

Burglary 149 100 113 99 142 126 187 136

Larceny 2,800 2,964 2,810 2,709 2,917 3,110 2,929 2,728

Motor vehicle theft 481 409 335 275 250 337 433 398

Arson 4 7 14 1 4 7 7 4

Transportation of stolen property 397 213 232 234 241 272 274 302

Other property offenses 158 160 130 148 151 143 164 167

Drug offenses 6,979 13,376 15,799 16,311 17,349 18,846 20,458 17,722

Trafficking 5,377 11,561 14,023 15,010 16,186 17,717 19,228 16,414

Possession and other 1,602 1,815 1,776 1,301 1,163 1,129 1,230 1,308

Public-order offenses 12,079 14,593 15,246 15,259 15,906 16,229 15,134 14,825

Regulatory 1,813 1,965 2,024 2,054 2,337 2,196 2,040 1,905

Agriculture 202 261 244 259 290 270 210 166

Antitrust 163 178 112 83 92 70 89 68

Fair labor standards 26 34 29 34 41 40 50 42

Food and drug 99 50 120 97 61 83 135 73

Motor carrier 64 66 59 51 60 30 32 10

Other regulatory offenses 1,259 1,376 1,460 1,530 1,793 1,703 1,524 1,546

Other Offenses 10,266 12,628 13,222 13,205 13,569 14,032 13,094 12,920

Weapons 1,606 1,803 2,151 2,440 3,136 4,017 3,178 2,879

Immigration offenses 2,101 1,851 2,446 2,569 2,306 2,383 2,583 2,588

Tax law violationsc 1,110 1,429 1,160 1,165 1,048 1,070 1,036 901

Bribery 156 184 238 220 242 304 240 280

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 96 104 108 87 107 88 116 91

National defense 132 203 204 141 135 152 104 83

Escape 662 651 648 612 525 527 496 501

Racketeering and extortion 437 561 588 518 518 627 735 730

Gambling offenses 123 164 171 211 262 221 180 157

Liquor offenses 27 10 13 22 4 21 10 4

Mail or transport of obscene material 20 56 54 72 45 40 17 22

Traffic 3,661 5,479 5,234 4,985 5,024 4,433 4,137 4,412

Migratory birds 59 33 70 57 30 25 26 21

Other 76 100 137 106 187 124 236 251

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be determined. bExcludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 9
Table 10. Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Percent convicted, 1982, 1988-93 (with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious

offense charged

Percent of defendants convicted

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 80.0% 80.4% 81.2% 80.9% 81.3% 82.9% 82.7% 82.0%

Violent offenses 80.7% 83.0% 82.4% 83.3% 82.5% 81.7% 85.9% 87.2%

Murder 70.6 76.3 78.6 78.6 75.5 64.8 78.2 85.1

Manslaughter — 75.0 83.3 73.1 88.5 79.0 72.0 90.5

Assault 69.2 68.9 67.1 68.4 61.9 65.4 74.5 72.1

Robbery 87.2 90.0 90.2 93.0 92.7 89.6 92.5 93.3

Rape 67.9 77.9 76.2 73.6 78.4 78.1 80.2 80.2

Other sex offenses 82.9 90.6 85.9 82.4 80.6 83.2 76.0 81.0

Kidnaping 77.0 81.4 70.7 78.4 77.0 66.9 64.0 87.0

Threats against the President 60.0 65.9 68.8 61.1 52.9 63.5 60.9 75.0

Property offenses 83.9% 83.7% 84.5% 84.6% 83.7% 84.9% 84.6% 84.5%

Fraudulent 85.7% 85.2% 86.8% 87.6% 87.0% 87.7% 87.1% 87.4%

Embezzlement 91.1 88.2 89.9 88.8 87.6 85.0 88.3 87.9

Fraudb 82.7 83.6 85.6 87.5 86.7 89.5 86.9 87.4

Forgery 87.1 89.4 89.5 87.2 85.7 78.6 83.6 83.8

Counterfeiting 86.9 84.4 85.4 85.1 90.2 86.6 89.6 89.5

Other offenses 79.9% 80.0% 78.7% 77.1% 76.2% 78.5% 78.6% 77.8%

Burglary 80.8 91.5 87.3 89.8 84.6 80.2 87.8 81.0

Larceny 81.0 80.2 79.2 76.7 75.5 78.6 77.6 77.2

Motor vehicle theft 78.9 78.9 82.5 84.2 84.9 83.7 86.4 87.3

Arson — — — — — 85.8 — —

Transportation of stolen property 82.1 84.1 83.1 81.2 79.1 76.9 83.5 78.4

Other property offenses 61.9 66.2 51.7 62.0 66.1 69.0 64.1 67.1

Drug offenses 79.5 82.9 83.1 83.6% 84.0 82.9% 84.8% 85.2%

Trafficking 80.2 83.8 84.2 84.2 84.7 82.4 84.7 85.4

Possession and other 76.5 75.6 73.9 75.9 72.3 92.7 85.6 82.2

Public-order offenses 76.3% 74.8% 76.1% 74.7% 76.5% 81.5% 77.7% 75.8%

Regulatory 77.0% 74.1% 77.9% 81.2% 79.1% 86.1% 81.1% 80.3%

Agriculture 80.2 73.8 71.5 77.7 74.9 78.1 79.5 77.9

Antitrust 80.8 76.7 72.1 84.2 78.6 82.1 86.4 79.1

Fair labor standards 82.1 93.3 91.3 100 97.0 91.2 98.0 84.0

Food and drug 81.5 73.8 91.9 87.0 77.6 85.3 94.4 94.8

Motor carrier 88.9 86.1 89.5 89.3 93.5 94.9 100 76.9

Other regulatory offenses 74.6 73.0 78.4 80.7 79.2 87.5 79.3 80.0

Other Offenses 76.2% 74.9% 75.9% 73.8% 76.1% 80.8% 77.2% 75.2%

Weapons 80.8 81.5 81.1 83.9 82.6 86.5 83.7 83.1

Immigration offenses 86.0 84.5 89.8 89.5 89.1 89.4 88.7 92.3

Tax law violationsc 87.4 90.9 90.8 91.8 90.7 94.6 90.9 93.8

Bribery 76.5 80.8 85.9 80.7 87.3 89.3 83.3 89.5

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 71.5 77.0 67.4 64.8 71.6 84.3 84.1 74.6

National defense 55.7 71.2 70.1 73.9 74.2 84.3 82.5 63.4

Escape 79.5 82.3 76.9 76.7 73.0 80.7 79.2 77.0

Racketeering and extortion 72.7 78.4 81.1 80.2 79.7 87.7 82.5 82.5

Gambling offenses 72.4 82.2 74.7 82.8 85.9 81.6 74.4 73.0

Liquor offenses 74.2 — — 71.4 — 66.9 — —

Mail or transport of obscene material 90.5 78.2 87.5 81.2 86.4 79.0 33.3 78.6

Traffic 68.5 67.0 67.3 61.6 66.9 70.1 65.4 61.3

Migratory birds 61.7 63.5 65.3 64.4 48.4 43.3 65.0 63.6

Other 58.5 51.0 52.7 54.1 48.9 63.3 62.3 65.7

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be determined, but

excludes defendants for whom outcome could not be determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

10 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 11. Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Number whose cases were dismissed, 1982, 1988-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious

offense charged

Number of defendants whose cases were dismissed

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 7,164 8,733 8,911 9,488 9,253 9,030 9,774 9,287

Violent offenses 446 350 376 378 434 423 393 350

Murder 35 16 28 34 28 22 30 32

Manslaughter 1 4552852

Assault 149 146 148 171 216 194 120 140

Robbery 175 111 114 77 96 108 127 107

Rape 19 28 26 40 42 38 34 32

Other sex offenses 11 22 27 29 22 26 29 23

Kidnaping 21 11 19 13 17 18 42 9

Threats against the President 35 12 9 9 11 9 6 5

Property offenses 2,065 2,201 2,152 2,184 2,228 2,152 2,384 2,177

Fraudulent 1,243 1,403 1,272 1,245 1,196 1,145 1,386 1,194

Embezzlement 144 204 170 215 231 210 210 160

Fraudb 744 967 891 803 775 771 1,001 867

Forgery 245 126 123 144 132 120 116 94

Counterfeiting 110 106 88 83 58 44 59 73

Other offenses 822 798 880 939 1,032 1,007 998 983

Burglary 29 10 14 11 13 29 21 30

Larceny 515 584 660 769 845 829 779 750

Motor vehicle theft 101 98 61 44 40 45 59 52

Arson 3 0221124

Transportation of stolen property 91 40 50 41 59 44 50 71

Other property offenses 83 66 93 72 74 59 87 76

Drug offenses 1,493 2,360 2,752 2,750 2,810 2,930 3,216 2,708

Trafficking 1,139 1,914 2,240 2,432 2,486 2,642 3,017 2,435

Possession and other 354 446 512 318 324 288 199 273

Public-order offenses 3,160 3,822 3,628 4,176 3,779 3,525 3,781 4,052

Regulatory 338 411 360 333 452 391 376 380

Agriculture 43 60 76 52 74 76 51 35

Antitrust 18 5 10 1 8 5 11 9

Fair labor standards 5 1201216

Food and drug 17 13 3 11 17 15 5 2

Motor carrier 8 10 6 6 4 2 0 0

Other regulatory offenses 247 322 263 263 348 290 308 328

Other Offenses 2,822 3,411 3,268 3,843 3,327 3,133 3,405 3,672

Weapons 322 322 360 371 482 568 524 477

Immigration offenses 304 291 249 290 266 285 320 212

Tax law violationsc 102 99 72 66 64 85 77 49

Bribery 36 28 29 39 31 24 36 22

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 20 19 32 28 32 20 18 16

National defense 57 36 45 33 36 45 21 46

Escape 157 124 178 165 185 138 122 143

Racketeering and extortion 112 90 65 88 76 109 113 126

Gambling offenses 34 31 52 37 39 67 61 53

Liquor offenses 7 4270931

Mail or transport of obscene material 2 12 6 12 4 15 28 6

Traffic 1,588 2,279 2,069 2,609 1,968 1,644 1,940 2,402

Migratory birds 34 15 27 29 17 22 14 12

Other 54 65 84 76 127 103 128 107

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be determined. bExcludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 11
Table 12. Defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Percent whose cases were dismissed, 1982, 1988-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious

offense charged

Percent of defendants whose cases were dismissed

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 16.8% 16.1% 15.5% 16.2% 15.4% 14.3% 15.1% 15.6%

Violent offenses 14.3% 13.0% 13.4% 13.2% 13.9% 11.7% 11.0% 10.4%

Murder 18.7 11.9 16.2 17.3 14.9 11.4 15.5 9.2

Manslaughter — 12.5 11.9 19.2 7.7 21.5 20.0 9.5

Assault 23.4 23.1 25.7 26.0 32.8 29.1 20.7 25.0

Robbery 9.1 8.4 7.7 5.3 5.6 5.0 5.6 5.5

Rape 23.5 17.2 14.4 20.3 16.8 14.9 13.8 14.4

Other sex offenses 15.7 7.4 13.6 14.1 12.6 14.6 23.2 19.0

Kidnaping 21.0 15.7 19.2 17.6 19.5 18.5 30.9 9.0

Threats against the President 33.3 29.3 18.8 25.0 32.4 30.8 26.1 17.9

Property offenses 13.5% 13.5% 13.3% 13.5% 14.1% 12.8% 13.7% 13.9%

Fraudulent 11.8% 12.1% 11.1% 10.8% 10.9% 9.7% 11.2% 11.0%

Embezzlement 6.5 9.5 8.3 10.2 11.3 10.2 10.8 10.7

Fraudb 14.2 13.3 12.0 10.4 10.6 9.5 11.1 11.0

Forgery 12.0 9.6 9.5 12.6 13.7 12.9 15.5 14.7

Counterfeiting 11.0 13.2 12.5 13.3 8.9 6.6 8.8 9.2

Other offenses 17.0% 16.9% 18.7% 20.6% 21.4% 19.8% 19.6% 20.5%

Burglary 17.4 8.5 11.1 8.7 8.3 18.2 9.9 17.9

Larceny 16.0 16.7 18.4 21.6 22.3 21.0 20.6 21.2

Motor vehicle theft 17.6 18.8 15.1 13.6 12.8 11.2 11.8 11.4

Arson — — — — — 13.5 22.2 50.0

Transportation of stolen property 14.8 11.5 14.6 13.1 18.4 12.4 15.2 18.4

Other property offenses 35.9 29.3 40.4 31.4 31.8 28.6 34.0 30.5

Drug offenses 16.6% 14.1% 13.9% 13.7% 13.3% 12.9% 13.3% 13.0%

Trafficking 15.8 13.0 12.6 13.0 12.5 12.3 13.3 12.7

Possession and other 20.0 23.0 25.4 23.0 25.9 23.6 13.8 17.1

Public-order offenses 20.7 20.6 19.2 21.2 18.8 17.7% 19.4 20.7

Regulatory 17.2% 18.2% 15.7% 14.4% 16.7% 15.3% 15.0% 16.0%

Agriculture 17.1 18.1 22.6 17.3 20.7 21.9 19.3 16.4

Antitrust 8.9 2.4 6.5 1.1 6.8 6.5 10.7 10.5

Fair labor standards 17.9 3.3 8.7 — 3.0 5.0 2.0 12.0

Food and drug 14.3 21.3 3.5 11.0 22.4 15.9 3.5 2.6

Motor carrier 11.1 13.9 10.5 10.7 6.5 6.9 0 0

Other regulatory offenses 19.7 20.8 16.1 15.2 16.8 14.9 16.0 17.0

Other Offenses 21.2% 21.0% 19.7% 22.1% 19.1% 18.0% 20.1% 21.4%

Weapons 16.0 15.1 14.8 13.4 13.3 12.2 13.8 13.8

Immigration offenses 12.6 14.0 9.5 10.2 10.4 10.7 11.0 7.6

Tax law violationsc 8.1 6.7 6.2 5.6 5.8 7.5 6.8 5.1

Bribery 16.6 11.4 9.7 14.4 10.4 7.1 12.5 7.0

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 13.9 15.6 22.7 21.9 21.6 19.0 13.0 13.1

National defense 43.5 22.1 22.8 23.9 23.8 24.9 16.7 35.1

Escape 18.7 16.1 21.9 20.8 25.7 21.2 19.5 22.0

Racketeering and extortion 18.7 13.9 10.8 16.6 13.4 15.2 12.7 14.2

Gambling offenses 20.0 14.5 22.7 14.5 12.8 24.8 25.2 24.7

Liquor offenses 22.6 — — 25.0 — 27.8 21.4 20.0

Mail or transport of obscene material 9.5 21.8 10.7 14.1 9.1 30.2 54.9 21.4

Traffic 30.0 27.9 26.6 32.2 26.1 26.0 30.7 33.4

Migratory birds 36.2 28.8 26.7 33.3 27.4 37.8 35.0 36.4

Other 38.2 42.1 43.6 43.9 45.4 52.7 33.8 28.0

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be determined, but

excludes defendants for whom outcome could not be determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

12 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 13. Defendants in matters disposed by U.S. magistrates: Number convicted, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense charged

Number of defendants convicted

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 7,065 6,994 8,354 8,956 6,372 5,945 5,713

Violent offenses 71 64 63 72 45 85 69

Murder/manslaughter 3111000

Assault 60 54 57 52 33 70 60

Robbery 8 5 5 12 3 10 2

Rape 0104852

Other sex offenses 0103001

Kidnaping 0000004

Threats against the President 0200100

Property offenses 1,151 975 922 997 655 901 1,144

Fraudulent 490 848 797 855 538 762 984

Embezzlement 245 205 310 351 226 340 313

Fraudb 166 548 392 421 231 331 568

Forgery 77 93 89 81 79 90 98

Counterfeiting 2262215

Other 661 127 125 142 117 139 160

Burglary 0000031

Larceny 71 75 64 72 58 84 77

Motor vehicle theft 8012065

Arson and explosives 1001022

Transportation of stolen property 0002110

Other property offenses 581 52 60 65 58 43 75

Drug offenses 191 387 477 444 502 695 890

Public-order offenses 5,392 5,524 6,809 7,314 5,042 4,229 3,577

Regulatory 384 223 425 336 194 131 80

Agriculture 132 22 97 148 35 24 26

Antitrust 0003000

Fair labor standards 1001003

Food and drug 2444332

Motor carrier 11 2 7 4 2 3 2

Other regulatory offenses 238 195 317 176 154 101 47

Other 5,008 5,301 6,384 6,978 4,848 4,098 3,497

Weapons 9 5 16 40 18 9 21

Immigration offenses 2,992 4,304 4,827 5,331 3,858 3,043 2,374

Tax law violationsc 29 9 32 37 32 42 48

Bribery 2639142

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 0 0 1 0 0 19 3

National defense 78 91 147 178 73 104 66

Escape 16 17 16 20 15 14 9

Racketeering and extortion 4114721

Gambling offenses 0203300

Liquor offenses 1010001

Mail or transport of obscene material 0003000

Migratory birds 740 194 676 543 250 225 131

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 1,098 532 574 716 498 632 835

All other offenses 39 140 90 94 93 4 6

Note: See Methodology (p.19). b

Excludes tax fraud.

a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be

determined.

c

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 13
Table 14. Defendants in matters disposed by U.S. magistrates: Percent convicted, 1982, 1988-93

Most serious

offense charged

Percent of defendants convicted

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

All offensesa 55.5% 63.8% 63.1% 63.1% 55.2% 52.7% 50.5%

Violent offenses 18.3% 30.5% 22.5% 29.8% 17.9% 28.6% 23.5%

Murder/manslaughter — — — — — ... ...

Assault 34.5 46.2 39.9 49.1 32.0 44.0 36.4

Robbery 5.6 8.5 5.5 14.0 3.2 10.9 2.4

Rape — — — — — — 33.3

Other sex offenses ... — — — ... ... 14.3

Kidnaping — — — — — ... 19.0

Threats against the President — — — — — ... ...

Property offenses 45.9% 61.7% 52.5% 52.1% 42.9% 47.7% 51.8%

Fraudulent 33.7% 64.6% 54.6% 53.2% 42.4% 48.3% 51.9%

Embezzlement 46.4 59.8 72.3 69.8 61.2 58.0 55.0

Fraudb 29.6 70.9 45.7 46.3 33.0 41.4 52.2

Forgery 21.7 49.7 54.6 43.1 44.1 49.5 44.1

Counterfeiting — — — — 10.0 — 33.3

Other 62.8 47.6% 42.2% 46.3% 45.0% 45.1% 51.0%

Burglary — — — — — — 50.0

Larceny 23.3 43.4 36.2 45.0 40.6 44.7 43.5

Motor vehicle theft 17.4 — 4.3 7.4 — 26.1 14.7

Arson and explosives — ... — — ... — 16.7

Transportation of stolen property — — — — — — ...

Other property offenses 84.4% 63.4 68.2 64.4 63.0 64.2 84.3

Drug offenses 25.1 28.2% 28.0% 25.3% 30.8% 39.2% 43.1%

Public-order offenses 62.1 71.6% 72.7% 72.5% 63.9% 58.2% 53.6%

Regulatory 42.2 48.6% 61.7% 55.6% 46.9% 41.7% 34.9%

Agriculture 88.0 73.3 88.2 92.5 74.5 70.6 76.5

Antitrust ... ... ... — ... ... ...

Fair labor standards — ... ... — ... ... 100

Food and drug 5.3 5.6 15.4 11.1 — 10.7 11.1

Motor carrier — — — — — — 50.0

Other regulatory offenses 33.7 54.8 58.1 44.4 44.6 ... 27.6

Other 64.5% 73.0% 73.6% 73.6% 64.9% 59.0% 54.2%

Weapons 8.3 6.3 11.8 21.2 9.6 4.9 11.5

Immigration offenses 90.2 95.0 95.3 94.6 91.9 92.4 92.4

Tax law violationsc 37.2 — 91.4 88.1 82.1 93.3 94.1

Bribery — 18.2 13.6 — 4.5 — 15.4

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation — — — — — 45.2 13.6

National defense 53.4 79.1 79.0 84.0 70.2 85.2 76.7

Escape 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.4

Racketeering and extortion 8.0 3.4 3.8 8.5 15.6 3.9 2.1

Gambling offenses — — ... — — ... ...

Liquor offenses — ... — — ... ... 100

Mail or transport of obscene material — — ... — ... ... ...

Migratory birds 81.1 89.8 94.7 94.3 83.3 85.6 86.8

Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, traffic,

and jurisdictional offenses 64.4 68.6 73.7 75.7 69.5 76.5 75.7

All other offenses 60.0 88.1 79.6 75.2 78.8 — 60.0

Note: See Methodology (p.19). a

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. determined.

...No case of this type occurred in the data. b

Excludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

14 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 15. Offenders convicted in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Number sentenced to prison, 1982, 1988-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious offense 

of conviction

Number of offenders sentenced to prisona

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesb 17,481 23,450 27,377 28,659 30,555 34,352 34,844 31,586

Violent offenses 2,027 1,733 1,892 2,032 2,260 2,675 2,679 2,443

Murder 100 88 92 124 111 117 136 210

Manslaughter 8 25 43 20 29 20 12 12

Assault 275 286 257 282 283 288 272 284

Robbery 1,453 1,059 1,237 1,313 1,504 1,900 1,950 1,628

Rape 44 97 101 120 161 179 166 155

Other sex offenses 37 112 75 106 93 98 61 60

Kidnaping 64 44 56 48 66 56 71 74

Threats against the President 46 22 31 19 13 15 11 20

Property offenses 5,834 5,723 5,974 5,885 6,033 6,699 6,980 6,466

Fraudulent 3,873 4,182 4,400 4,464 4,542 5,148 5,378 4,967

Embezzlement 592 490 510 520 614 734 650 519

Fraudc 1,976 2,915 3,028 3,230 3,251 3,749 4,154 3,855

Forgery 806 459 518 397 361 343 262 197

Counterfeiting 499 318 344 317 316 323 312 396

Other offenses 1,961 1,541 1,574 1,421 1,491 1,551 1,602 1,499

Burglary 96 84 93 83 119 108 158 131

Larceny 1,223 978 1,036 940 951 921 929 851

Motor vehicle theft 338 293 239 200 170 256 321 308

Arson 0 2 11 1 2 6 6 7

Transportation of stolen property 268 132 161 171 191 215 172 146

Other property offenses 36 52 34 26 58 45 16 56

Drug offenses 5,138 10,599 13,306 14,092 15,012 16,757 17,343 14,835

Trafficking 4,417 10,197 12,832 13,640 14,558 16,334 16,667 14,272

Possession and other 721 402 474 452 454 423 676 563

Public-order offenses 1,516 5,395 6,194 6,650 7,250 8,220 7,833 7,838

Regulatory 516 640 746 799 884 875 912 876

Agriculture 31 52 37 49 40 47 40 26

Antitrust 54 43 22 22 25 14 10 8

Fair labor standards 4 6 2 3 8 14 14 9

Food and drug 4 8 24 16 7 13 48 17

Motor carrier 7 27 21 19 24 12 14 5

Other regulatory offenses 416 504 640 690 780 773 786 811

Other Offenses 3,966 4,755 5,448 5,851 6,366 7,345 6,921 6,962

Weapons 1,000 1,262 1,647 1,894 2,632 3,500 2,910 2,812

Immigration offenses 1,117 1,287 1,658 1,876 1,742 1,779 2,099 2,243

Tax law violationsd 508 629 543 507 434 445 370 329

Bribery 74 81 103 111 122 135 109 119

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 67 73 65 62 75 55 72 53

National defense 31 49 88 61 53 60 33 30

Escape 577 566 580 545 470 485 438 448

Racketeering and extortion 316 418 459 404 437 535 592 596

Gambling offenses 50 67 69 113 83 85 69 69

Liquor offenses 9 3 3 11 0 1 2 0

Mail or transport of obscene material 10 14 9 19 17 10 4 8

Traffic 185 279 207 233 275 237 187 218

Migratory birds 0 8 923022

Other 22 19 8 13 23 16 34 35

a

Includes sentences to prison with or without probation. cExcludes tax fraud. b

Total may include defendants for whom offense category could not be

determined.

d

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 15
Table 16. Offenders convicted in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Percent sentenced to prison, 1982, 1988-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious offense 

of conviction

Percent of offenders sentenced to prisona

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesb 51.1% 53.8% 58.5% 60.3% 62.4% 65.6% 65.2% 64.9%

Violent offenses 86.1% 81.0% 86.8% 87.2% 89.9% 90.9% 87.1% 83.5%

Murder 90.9 94.6 90.2 93.2 90.2 94.0 90.1 70.7

Manslaughter — 92.6 89.6 87.0 93.5 72.4 66.7 63.2

Assault — 63.8 64.6 62.0 67.4 65.9 63.0 70.5

Robbery 63.2 94.0 97.7 98.2 98.5 99.1 93.7 89.3

Rape 92.9 83.6 77.7 80.5 83.9 88.7 83.8 87.1

Other sex offenses 91.7 44.4 51.7 66.7 67.9 65.3 64.2 61.2

Kidnaping 62.7 91.7 96.6 90.6 98.5 88.5 81.6 85.1

Threats against the President 97.0 78.6 93.9 86.4 — 84.5 78.6 95.2

Property offenses 45.6% 42.6% 44.1% 43.3% 45.8% 46.8% 47.3% 49.0%

Fraudulent 44.1% 43.6% 44.4% 44.1% 47.9% 49.8% 50.0% 52.5%

Embezzlement 30.0 27.6 28.4 28.4 34.9 41.8 37.9 39.6

Fraudc 43.8 47.1 46.3 46.9 50.7 51.5 53.1 55.8

Forgery 54.8 45.6 50.8 43.8 48.2 46.9 41.8 36.8

Counterfeiting 59.7 52.3 60.4 62.6 57.1 56.3 52.0 55.8

Other offenses 49.2% 40.0% 43.3% 41.0% 40.2% 38.8% 40.1% 40.1%

Burglary 64.4 84.0 82.3 83.8 83.8 86.0 84.5 96.3

Larceny 43.7 33.0 36.9 34.7 32.6 29.6 31.7 31.2

Motor vehicle theft 70.3 71.6 71.3 72.7 68.0 76.2 74.1 77.4

Arson — — — — — 87.6 — —

Transportation of stolen property 67.5 62.0 69.4 73.1 79.3 78.8 62.8 48.3

Other property offenses 22.8 32.5 26.2 17.6 38.4 31.4 9.8 33.5

Drug offenses 73.6% 79.2% 84.2% 86.4% 86.5% 88.9% 84.8% 83.7%

Trafficking 82.1 88.2 91.5 90.9 89.9 92.2 86.7 87.0

Possession and other 44.9 22.1 26.7 34.7 39.0 37.5 55.0 43.0

Public-order offenses 37.1% 37.0% 40.6% 43.6% 45.6% 50.6% 51.8% 52.9%

Regulatory 28.5% 32.6% 36.9% 38.9% 37.8% 39.8% 44.7% 46.0%

Agriculture 15.3 19.9 15.2 18.9 13.8 17.4 19.0 15.7

Antitrust 33.1 24.2 19.6 26.5 27.2 20.6 11.2 11.8

Fair labor standards 15.4 17.6 6.9 8.8 19.5 35.8 28.0 21.4

Food and drug 4.0 16.0 20.0 16.5 11.5 16.1 35.6 23.3

Motor carrier 10.9 40.9 35.6 37.3 40.0 40.9 43.8 50.0

Other regulatory offenses 33.0 36.6 43.8 45.1 43.5 45.4 51.6 52.5

Other Offenses 38.6% 37.7% 41.2% 44.3% 46.9% 52.3% 52.9% 53.9%

Weapons 62.3 70.0 76.6 77.6 83.9 87.1 91.6 97.7

Immigration offenses 53.2 69.5 67.8 73.0 75.5 74.7 81.3 86.7

Tax law violationsd 45.8 44.0 46.8 43.5 41.4 41.6 35.7 36.5

Bribery 47.4 44.0 43.3 50.5 50.4 44.3 45.4 42.5

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 69.8 70.2 60.2 71.3 70.1 62.9 62.1 58.2

National defense 23.5 24.1 43.1 43.3 39.3 39.6 31.7 36.1

Escape 87.2 86.9 89.5 89.1 89.5 92.1 88.3 89.4

Racketeering and extortion 72.3 74.5 78.1 78.0 84.4 85.4 80.5 81.6

Gambling offenses 40.7 40.9 40.4 53.6 31.7 38.4 38.3 43.9

Liquor offenses 33.3 — — 50.0 — 4.8 — —

Mail or transport of obscene material 50.0 25.0 16.7 26.4 37.8 25.0 23.5 36.4

Traffic 5.1 5.1 4.0 4.7 5.5 5.3 4.5 4.9

Migratory birds — 24.2 12.9 3.5 10.0 0 7.7 9.5

Other 28.9 19.0 5.8 12.3 12.3 13.2 14.4 13.9

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. c

Excludes tax fraud. a

Includes sentences to prison with or without probation. dIncludes tax fraud.

b

Total may include offenders for whom offense category could not be determined, but

excludes offenders for whom sentence category could not be determined.

16 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
Table 17. Offenders convicted in cases terminated in U.S. district court: Mean length of prison sentences, 1982, 1988-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious offense 

of conviction

Average incarceration sentence length imposed

1982 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offensesa 47.8 mo 55.1 mo 54.5 mo 57.2 mo 61.9 mo 62.6 mo 60.6 mo 60.9 mo

Violent offenses 133.3 mo 110.7 mo 90.6 mo 89.2 mo 90.7 mo 94.8 mo 88.8 mo 88.2 mo

Murder 161.9 162.7 180.1 134.7 172.3 143.8 118.9 117.0

Manslaughter — 29.2 23.3 19.9 21.8 22.6 15.0 14.4

Assault 43.1 39.7 34.4 34.8 37.8 43.9 34.5 41.0

Robbery 153.1 131.4 100.0 101.0 98.6 101.5 96.4 94.6

Rape 113.2 95.8 90.1 78.9 72.3 82.4 73.8 68.4

Other sex offenses 73.5 75.1 44.7 33.1 31.7 48.9 40.2 56.9

Kidnaping 147.1 190.5 147.9 178.5 189.9 146.8 142.0 152.7

Threats against the President 42.4 44.1 35.9 — — — 18.6 24.1

Property offenses 31.1 mo 31.5 mo 26.0 mo 22.0 mo 21.2 mo 21.8 mo 23.7 mo 25.1 mo

Fraudulent 28.3 mo 31.0 mo 26.1 mo 21.9 mo 20.1 mo 20.3 mo 19.2 mo 20.7 mo

Embezzlement 20.2 19.6 16.5 17.5 15.5 16.3 12.3 14.3

Fraudb 27.9 32.9 29.8 23.4 21.6 21.1 20.6 22.1

Forgery 33.0 32.1 18.3 16.9 16.6 18.7 14.9 16.8

Counterfeiting 31.6 29.1 20.1 19.4 18.5 20.0 18.7 17.0

Other offenses 36.5 mo 32.7 mo 25.7 mo 22.4 mo 24.6 mo 27.6 mo 38.8 mo 39.9 mo

Burglary 74.5 55.6 41.7 34.4 59.5 52.9 79.1 59.7

Larceny 32.0 27.5 22.7 18.8 17.5 18.6 22.2 25.0

Motor vehicle theft 42.3 38.0 28.6 27.6 29.8 21.8 68.8 86.1

Arson ... 19.0 45.3 — ————

Transportation of stolen property 40.0 51.1 33.3 31.8 38.6 21.9 32.8 24.2

Other property offenses 10.7 17.7 12.2 11.5 8.8 12.1 66.9 11.9

Drug offenses 54.6 mo 71.3 mo 74.9 mo 80.9 mo 85.7 mo 82.9 mo 79.7 mo 80.1 mo

Trafficking 59.3 73.6 77.3 83.1 87.4 84.3 82.2 82.5

Possession and other 26.2 13.6 8.1 14.9 21.7 22.1 18.0 22.0

Public-order offenses 25.6 mo 30.7 mo 27.6 mo 28.3 mo 37.8 mo 40.5 mo 42.1 mo 46.0 mo

Regulatory 25.7 mo 30.4 mo 24.0 mo 26.7 mo 26.5 mo 28.8 mo 26.8 mo 31.7 mo

Agriculture 12.0 7.4 7.9 9.1 6.9 8.6 8.0 10.3

Antitrust 6.9 8.3 13.5 12.9 17.2 — — —

Fair labor standards — 8.7 5.0 — — — 16.3 —

Food and drug — 12.6 11.3 — — — 12.3 25.4

Motor carrier — 23.6 13.0 — 11.8 28.0 19.6 —

Other regulatory offenses 29.5 35.6 26.2 29.1 28.6 33.3 29.1 33.1

Other Offenses 25.6 mo 30.7 mo 28.1 mo 28.5 mo 39.3 mo 40.9 mo 44.1 mo 47.8 mo

Weapons 34.3 52.3 47.1 47.3 63.0 64.6 66.6 81.2

Immigration offenses 16.4 11.7 9.3 10.5 12.5 15.0 18.8 19.9

Tax law violationsc 15.1 22.8 25.2 24.3 24.9 22.2 21.1 15.7

Bribery 26.7 27.0 21.0 24.8 23.9 28.5 24.5 24.3

Perjury, contempt, and intimidation 22.5 18.9 17.2 22.5 32.2 32.2 25.2 24.8

National defense 19.0 14.3 13.8 15.9 16.1 29.7 13.9 39.4

Escape 21.6 23.9 23.6 22.2 21.8 21.3 19.7 21.2

Racketeering and extortion 70.7 72.3 57.4 61.4 63.0 81.7 78.3 62.0

Gambling offenses 25.1 12.6 12.0 13.6 20.1 24.7 35.3 19.7

Liquor offenses — 4.7 3.7 — ...——...

Mail or transport of obscene material — 44.3 22.2 — ————

Traffic 2.5 3.9 3.2 4.5 5.3 5.2 8.5 7.5

Migratory birds ... 5.1 11.3 — —...——

Other 14.8 9.0 3.4 — — 9.2 19.0 21.3

Note: See Methodology (p.19). a

Total may include offenders for whom offense category could not be

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data. determined.

...No case of this type occurred in the data. b

Excludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

Data tables 17
Table 18. Prisoners released from Federal prison: Average time served until first release (months), 1986-93 

(with preliminary data for 1994)

Most serious offense 

of convictiona Average time served until first release

1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

All offenses 14.6 mo 17.9 mo 17.7 mo 18.2 mo 20.1 mo 21.7 mo 23.9 mo 25.1 mo

Violent offenses 46.4 mo 49.8 mo 48.0 mo 52.9 mo 54.5 mo 54.4 mo 55.9 mo 53.5 mo

Murder/manslaugter 41.8 52.8 43.5 62.5 55.8 49.9 64.0 51.3

Assault 40.4 40.5 38.9 45.5 49.8 48.2 57.4 52.1

Robbery 50.1 54.2 54.2 56.3 57.8 59.6 56.8 56.2

Rape — 48.3 71.4 59.4 72.2 69.4 — —

Other sex offenses 24.8 29.8 30.6 32.4 26.6 23.8 31.0 28.7

Kidnaping 66.1 93.6 67.9 104.6 95.3 93.5 93.4 97.2

Threats against the President 26.3 26.6 23.7 21.0 23.9 30.8 21.6 29.3

Property offenses 15.6 mo 16.3 mo 15.8 mo 15.7 mo 15.9 mo 15.8 mo 15.4 mo 15.3 mo

Fraudulent 13.3 mo 14.4 mo 14.7 mo 14.4 mo 14.6 mo 14.8 mo 14.5 mo 14.6 mo

Embezzlement 9.8 10.5 10.0 11.4 10.8 10.0 9.1 9.4

Fraudb 12.7 14.1 14.7 14.3 14.5 15.1 15.2 15.1

Forgery 14.8 16.7 16.1 14.5 16.7 14.9 13.6 13.0

Counterfeiting 18.8 19.0 18.6 18.1 18.5 20.1 17.6 17.9

Other offenses 19.7 mo 20.5 mo 18.0 mo 18.8 mo 19.0 mo 18.4 mo 18.1 mo 17.5 mo

Burglary 17.3 24.5 24.9 25.3 24.2 23.0 23.8 23.9

Larceny 18.3 17.4 15.8 16.2 14.1 14.6 13.4 11.3

Motor vehicle theft 24.1 27.4 21.6 21.7 29.8 24.8 20.5 21.3

Arson 26.5 28.0 33.2 36.8 39.7 35.5 37.7 39.7

Transportation of stolen property 22.8 27.1 24.3 28.7 23.2 24.6 25.4 22.2

Other property offenses 9.9 9.0 5.8 14.3 17.1 17.6 19.8 22.7

Drug offenses 20.6 mo 23.2 mo 24.3 mo 27.1 mo 28.4 mo 29.7 mo 33.0 mo 35.0 mo

Trafficking 21.1 23.9 25.2 28.1 30.0 31.5 35.1 36.6

Possession and other 8.0 9.2 8.7 9.1 8.2 7.1 7.2 7.7

Public-order offenses 6.3 mo 8.9 mo 8.3 mo 7.8 mo 9.1 mo 11.0 mo 12.4 mo 13.7 mo

Regulatory 14.8 mo 17.2 mo 16.6 mo 16.6 mo 17.2 mo 16.2 mo 18.0 mo 19.2 mo

Other Offenses 5.9 mo 8.3 mo 7.8 mo 7.4 mo 8.6 mo 10.7 mo 12.1 mo 13.3 mo

Weapons 18.2 19.5 18.7 19.1 18.9 20.4 23.5 27.8

Immigration offenses 3.3 4.4 3.9 3.6 4.2 5.3 5.5 6.2

Tax law violationsc 9.3 10.7 10.9 11.8 12.1 13.5 13.8 14.0

Bribery 11.4 12.8 13.3 10.8 11.0 12.1 13.0 14.2

Perjury 10.3 11.0 16.1 12.9 13.8 16.1 15.8 15.6

National defense 17.5 15.1 20.9 22.8 23.0 24.2 16.6 26.1

Escape 21.4 17.0 19.1 19.0 19.5 19.0 22.9 18.4

Racketeering and extortion 22.1 26.1 29.7 29.8 31.4 36.2 36.7 36.0

Gambling offenses — — — —————

Liquor offenses — — — —————

Mail or transport of obscene material 21.0 34.1 20.1 23.1 17.7 16.3 25.8 29.4

Traffic 2.0 2.2 2.6 1.9 2.4 2.4 3.0 2.9

Migratory birds 5.1 4.8 5.7 6.1 7.7 6.9 7.0 7.1

Other 13.8 15.5 10.8 12.6 15.4 14.7 16.4 13.2

Note: Time-served data in this table is based on a new method and

supersedes time served in prior Federal Justice Statistics reports. For

more detailed information on this method see Explanatory notes (p.20).

Includes all prisoners first released in the indicated calendar year,

regardless of sentence length. Includes only prisoners serving U.S.

district court sentences. Excludes subsequent releases (e.g., parole

violators) and prisoners received from other sources (e.g., courts martial

and probation violators). See Explanatory notes (p.20).

—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data.

a

Offense cateories may not be directly comparable to other tables. Total

includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined.

b

Excludes tax fraud.

c

Includes tax fraud.

18 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
The data in this report come from the

BJS Federal justice database. The

database is constructed from source

files provided by the Executive Office

for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), the

Administrative Office of the United

States Courts (AOUSC), the U.S.

Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and other

Federal agencies whose files are

used in other BJS reports. Federal

law prohibits the use of the BJS

database for any purpose other than

research or statistics. 

In each table, data describe the

calendar year indicated. 

The source for 1992 and 1993 data is

the 1992 Compendium of Federal

Justice Statistics and the 1993

Compendium of Federal Justice

Statistics. The source for 1982 and

1988-91 data is Federal Criminal

Case Processing, 1982-91, with

Preliminary Data for 1992. Data for

1992 and 1993 supersede that

publication. Comparable data for

1986-89 may be found in Federal

Criminal Case Processing,

1980-1989, with Preliminary Data for

1990. Additional information for each

year may be found in the

Compendium of Federal Justice

Statistics. Time-served data

presented in table 18 supersede

time-served data in prior Federal

Criminal Case Processing reports.

Data shown for 1994 in tables 8-12

and 15-18 are based on preliminary

data received from AOUSC and

BOP.

Data for 1991 in tables 1 through 7,

13 and 14 are incomplete because

the Executive Office for U.S.

Attorneys phased out the Docket and

Reporting data system during

1991-92. The tables are based on

records entered into the system

through January 1992. In years prior

to 1991, data for tables 1 through 7,

13 and 14 for each calendar year

included records entered into the

Docket and Reporting data system

through the end of the following year.

The data shown in tables 8-12 and

15-17 for 1990 through 1994 reflect a

change in the AOUSC's file closeout

procedures and are not exactly

comparable to data for earlier years.

(The number of defendants shown for

1990 through 1994 are slightly lower

than would have been anticipated

under previous file closeout

procedures.) 

The offense classifications in tables

1-17 are based on the classification

system used by the AOUSC.

Specific offenses in the AOUSC

classification are combined to form

the BJS categories in the tables.

These categories are designed to be

as consistent as possible with BJS

publications on State criminal justice

systems. Offense categories in table

18 are based on combinations of

offense designations used by the

Bureau of Prisons. They are similar

to the categories in other tables, but

may not be directly comparable.

Where more than one offense is

charged or adjudicated, the most

serious offense is used in the

classification. The offense

description may change as a case

goes through the criminal justice

process. In tables 1-17, the offense

which may result in the longest

sentence is used. In table 18,

prisoners are classified according to

the offense which actually bears the

greatest sentence. Tables indicate

whether charged or adjudicated

offenses are used.

Tables 1-7, 13 and 14, which

describe the number and rate of

prosecutions and the results of

magistrate proceedings, include only

those matters handled by U.S.

attorneys and those matters in which

U.S. attorneys provide local

assistance to Department of Justice

attorneys in the litigating divisions.

Tables 8-12 and 15-18, which

describe the number and rate of

convictions, sentencing patterns,

incarceration rates, and lengths of

sentences imposed and served,

include all cases regardless of the

prosecuting agency. 

In tables 1-7, 13 and 14, from

1980-89 some matters concluded as

racketeering offenses were

categorized according to their

predicate offense (e.g. murder), or

were included only in the total of "all

offenses," if the predicate offense

was not shown in the source data.

Beginning with 1990, racketeering

offenses are included in the category

"racketeering and extortion." 

The average sentence lengths

reported for 1991 in table 17 are

based on partial data; 1,688

offenders (approximately 6% of the

total) were excluded because of

questionable sentencing information.

Methodology 19

Methodology
Exact definitions of all offense categories are provided in the glossary

beginning on page 23.

Tables 1-7, 13 and 14. These tables

describe the disposition of matters 

handled by U.S. attorneys. Suspects

are classified according to the most

serious offense investigated. Data 

describing prosecutions by other

agencies, including the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, were not available for this report.

Data in all the remaining tables describe the processing of defendants

in all court cases, regardless of the

prosecuting agency.

During 1991, the Department of Justice provided U.S. attorneys with lists

of cases shown in the data as having

remained inactive for long periods of

time, and directed that resolutions be

reported to the Docket and Reporting

system, if possible. As a result,

many cases which had been shown

as pending were reported to be declined for prosecution, or were shown

as resolved by U.S. magistrates.

Statistics for 1991 were substantially

affected by these record keeping

activities.

Tables 8 and 10-12. These tables

tabulate defendants according to the

most serious offense charged.

Tables 9 and 15-17. These tables

tabulate convicted offenders according to the most serious offense of

conviction. 

Tables 15 and 16. These tables in

clude all sentences to incarceration

longer than 4 days regardless of

whether the term was concurrent or

consecutive with a period of probation, a fine, or other condition. 

Suspended sentences and sentences

to "time already served" are not included as incarceration sentences.

Table 17. Average lengths of imposed prison sentences are tabulated

for all adult offenders receiving a

sentence with a maximum term, excluding only offenders receiving an

indeterminate sentence such as a life

sentence or a death sentence. The

average is the mean value of the

maximum terms to be served, considering all consecutive and concurrent sentences. 

These figures differ from statistics

published by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts for

the average "regular" sentence imposed. "Regular" sentences exclude

two categories of offenders included

in the BJS calculations: offenders receiving a "split" sentence (5 days

through 6 months followed by probation) and offenders sentenced under

18 USC 4205(b)(1) and (b)(2) (where

a maximum term is set accompanied

by no or a small minimum). 

Table 18. Prisoners are classified

according to the offense associated

with the longest sentence actually imposed. (Classifications in other tables are based on the longest

potential sentence allowed by law.) 

Offense categories are based on

combinations of offense designations

used by the Bureau of Prisons. They

are similar to the categories in other

tables, but may not be directly comparable. 

The table includes only prisoners

committed by U.S. district courts for

violations of the U.S. Code. Other

prisoners, such as probation and parole violators, and other types of offenses, such as military, District of

Columbia, or State offenses, are excluded. 

Unlike BJS publications concerning

State prisoners, which exclude prisoners serving sentences under 1

year, table 18 includes Federal prisoners who received sentences of any

length. Offenses for a few offenders

could not be classified; these offenders are included in the total.

Time served in prison is the number

of months from the prisoner's arrival

into jurisdiction of the Bureau of Prisons until first release from prison,

plus any jail time served and credited. The definition of time served is

the same as that currently used by

the Bureau of Prisons. Other publications may include different groups

of prisoners, calculate time served

differently, or use a different offense

classification. Therefore, timeserved data reported here and in the

Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1993 may differ from estimates of time served in previous 

publications by the Bureau of Prisons

or in publications based on other data

sources.

Time served reported in table 18 is

not directly comparable to that in

previous Federal Criminal Case

Processing and the Compendium 

of Federal Justice Statistics reports.

The methodology in this report uses

new information to identify prison

commitment dates and account for

jail credits. In previous reports jail

credits were overestimated in some

cases. The table below shows the

estimates of time served for all

offenses and for major offenses

categories based on the current and

former methodologies.

20 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93

Explanatory notes

Average time served to first release, for

prisoners released during 1993, by 

current and former methods used to

calculate average time served

Current

method

Former

method

All offenses 23.9 mo 26.6 mo

Violent offenses 55.9 59.7

Property offenses 15.4 17.0

Drug offenses 33.0 37.0

Public-order offenses 12.4 14.0
This glossary defines each term used

by the BJS Federal Justice Statistics

program. The definitions specifically

describe the criteria used in establishing table classifications.

Definitions of offense categories describe all offenses included in each

category. Statutory sections are cited

in parentheses at the end of each

definition.

Agriculture violation — violation of

the Federal statutes on agriculture

and conservation, for example, violations of the Agricultural Acts, Federal

Seed Act, Game Conservation Acts,

Insecticide Act, and the Packers and

Stockyards Act; also violation of laws

concerning plant quarantine and the

handling of animals pertaining to research (title 7 U.S.C. except sections

on food stamps). 

Antitrust — violation of Federal antitrust statutes (15 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3, 8,

13(A)-(F), 20, 24, 70I, and 72). 

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.

7 (18 U.S.C. 81).

Assault — intentionally inflicting or

attempting or threatening to inflict

bodily injury to anyone within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as defined in

18 U.S.C. 7 or to any Government official, foreign official, official guest,

internationally protected person, or

any officer or employee of the United

States designated in section 1114 of

title 18; also certain violations of the

Fair Housing Law (18 U.S.C. 111,

112(A)-(C), 113(A)-(F), 114,

351(C)-(E), 372, 1501-2, 1751(E),

1991, 2231(A)(B), and 2233; 21

U.S.C. 461(C), 675(A)(B), and

1041(C); 26 U.S.C. 7212(A)(B); 42

U.S.C. 3610(A), 3611(F), and 3631;

46 U.S.C. 701(6); and 49 U.S.C.

1472(k1) and 1475(J)(k1)).

Bail — the sum of money promised

as a condition of release, to be paid if

a released defendant defaults (18

U.S.C. 3142(c)).

Bribery — offering or promising anything of value with intent to unlawfully

influence a public official, bank employee, officer or employee of the

U.S. Government, witness, or any

common carrier as well as soliciting

or accepting such an offer. Soliciting

or receiving anything of value in consideration of aiding a person to obtain

employment in the U.S. Government.

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, facility,

or item for which payment may be

made through Medical Assistance

Programs. Bribing in sporting contests is also illegal (18 U.S.C.

201(A)-(I), 203-5, 207(B)(C), 208-15,

and 224; 21 U.S.C. 622; 26 U.S.C.

7214(A); 42 U.S.C. 1396H(B); 46

U.S.C. 239(I); and 49 U.S.C. 10(4),

917(B), and 1472(D)). 

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. 7;

also including 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 Statesor breaking the seal or lock of any carrier facility containing interstate or foreign

shipments of freight or express (18

U.S.C. 2111, 2113(A), and 2115-17).

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.

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.

Counterfeiting — falsely making,

forging, or altering any 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. Passing, selling, attempting to pass or sell,

or bringing into the United States any

of the above falsely made articles.

Making, selling, or possessing any

plates or stones used for printing

counterfeit obligations or securities of

the United States, foreign obligations

or securities, Government transportation requests, or postal stamps (18

U.S.C. 331, 471-74, 476-81, 485-88,

490, 492, 500-502, 506-7, and 509;

21 U.S.C. 458(C4) and 611(B4); 26

U.S.C. 5604(A4) and 7241; and 46

U.S.C. 410).

Declination — the decision by a

prosecutor not to file a case.

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.

Methodology 21

Glossary
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

publication.

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 the Federal

criminal courts.

Distribution — delivery (other than

by administering or dispensing) of a

controlled substance (21 U.S.C. 802).

District of Columbia — the jurisdiction of the U.S. district court for the

District of Columbia. This publication

includes Federal offenses prosecuted

in U.S. district courts and excludes

violations of the District of Columbia

code and cases prosecuted in the

District of Columbia superior court.

Drug offenses — possessing or trafficking in (distributing, importing, and

manufacturing) controlled substances. Also furnishing of fraudulent

or false information concerning prescriptions as well as any other unspecified drug-related offense. (See

specific offenses in this glossary for

citations.)

Embezzlement — fraudulently misapplying property by a person to

whom such property has been entrusted or into whose hands it has

lawfully come where offense is 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. Embezzling,

stealing, or knowingly converting to

one's own use or the use of another

or without authority selling, conveying, or disposing of any money, property, records, or thing of value to the

United States or any department

thereof (12 U.S.C. 630; 15 U.S.C.

645(B)(C); 18 U.S.C. 332, 334,

641-57, 660, 664, 665(A)(B), 1025,

1163, 1709-11 and 1721; 22 U.S.C.

1179; 29 U.S.C. 501(C) and 502(B);

38 U.S.C. 3501; and 42 U.S.C.

2703A, 2971F(A)(B), 3220(B), and

3791).

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. Forcibly rescuing any person

in an attempt to prevent execution or

forcibly removing or attempting to remove the dead body of an executed

offender in order to prevent an

autopsy. Aiding or enticing any person belonging to the Armed Forces of

a belligerent nation or fraction, who is

interned in the United States in accordance with the law of nations, to

escape or attempt to escape. 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 section

1791C of title 18). 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

(18 U.S.C. 751, 752(A)(B), 753-57,

1071-74, 1791-92, 3150, and

4082(D); 42 U.S.C. 261(B)(C) and

3425-26; and 50 U.S.C. 822-23).

Failure to appear — willful absence

from any court appointment.

Felony — a criminal offense

punishable by death or imprisonment

for a term exceeding 1 year (18

U.S.C. 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

publication, 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 individual

definitions).

Food and drug violations — violations of the Federal Food and Drug

Act (21 U.S.C. 16-17, 20-23, 62-63,

104, 111, 115, 117, 120, 122, 124,

126, 134(A)-(E), 141-45, 151-55, 157,

158, 201, 203, 205, 207, 209-12,

331(A)-(G), 331(I2)(I3), 331(J)-(P),

333(A)(B), 458(A1)-(A5), 459,

460(A)-(D), 461(A), 463, 466(A),

610(A)(B)(B2)(C), 611(A)(B3),

620(D), 642, 676(A), 1037, 1041(A),

1175, and 1175F; and 26 U.S.C.

4591, 4594(A)-(C), 4597(A),

4804(A2)(A4)(B), 4805(B), 4814(A1),

4815(A)(B), 4817, 4833(A2)(B)(C),

4834(A), 4841, 4862(B),

7234(A)(C)(D1)(D2A)(D2B)(D3)(D4) ,

7235(A)-(E), 7236, 7264, 7265(A)(B),

and 7266(A1)-(A3)(B)). 

Forgery — falsely and with intent to

defraud, making, counterfeiting, altering, or possessing with intent to pass

off as genuine any 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; seal

of a court or any department or

agency of the U.S. Government; the

signature of a judge or court officer;

22 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
ships' papers; documents on entry of

vessels; deed; power of attorney;

customs matters; bond of distilleries;

military or naval discharge certificate;

coin or bar; and so forth. Also making, possessing, selling, or printing

plates or stones for counterfeiting obligations or securities and receiving,

possessing, concealing, selling, or

disposing of any falsely made securities, tax stamps, or pledges that have

crossed a State or the U.S. boundary

after being stolen or unlawfully converted (18 U.S.C. 471-74, 478-79,

482-85, 493-98, 500, 503, 505-8,

1025, 2314-15, and 2318; 19 U.S.C.

1436; 21 U.S.C. 458(B)(C1)(C2), and

611(B1); 26 U.S.C. 5601(A4)(A5); 43

U.S.C. 1191-92; and 49 U.S.C.

1472(B)). 

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, veterans benefits, allotments, bankruptcy, marketing agreements, commodity credit, the

Securities and Exchange Commission, railroad retirement, unemployment, Social Security, 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 specific offenses in this glossary for citations.)

Fraudulent property offenses —

see "Property offenses, fraudulent."

Gambling — 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 section 7 of title 18. Also

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. An employee of the

Postal Service acting as a lottery

agent is considered guilty of this offense (15 U.S.C. 1172-76; and 18

U.S.C. 1082(A)(B), 1084, 1301-3,

1953, and 1955).

Guilty plea — a plea in response to

formal charges admitting that the defendant committedoffenses as

charged. This category also includes

pleas of nolo contendere.

Hispanic — ethnic category based

on classification by reporting agency.

Hispanic persons may be of any race.

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, or willfully

remaining beyond days allowed on

conditional permit. Falsely representing oneself to be a citizen of the

United States or counterfeiting any

visa, permit, or other document to enter the United States as well as violating any of the provisions for travel

of citizens or aliens during war or national emergency. Also bringing in or

harboring any aliens not duly admitted by an immigration officer (8

U.S.C. 331, 333-34, 338-39, 1185(C),

1252(D)(E), 1282(A)(C), 1286-87,

1321, and 1324-26; and 18 U.S.C.

911 and 1546). 

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. 4205 B(1)(2)).

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 that cannot be classified in a more specific

substantive category.

Kidnaping — unlawfully seizing any

person, within the special maritime

and territorial jurisdiction of the

United States as defined by section 7

of title 18, for ransom or reward, except in the case of a minor by a parent. Also 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. This offense includes kidnaping or attempting to kidnap any

Government official, the President of

the United States, the Presidentelect, the Vice President, any foreign

official, any official guest, or any internationally protected person (18

U.S.C. 351(B)-(D), 1201-2, and

1751(B)-(C)). 

Labor law violations — violations of

the Fair Labor Standards Act, the

Taft-Hartley Act (labor-management

relations), the Byrnes Act (transportation of strikebreakers), laws regarding

the 8-hour day on public works, and

peonage laws (18 U.S.C. 1231 and

1581-88; 29 U.S.C. 162, 186(A),

206-7, 211(C)(D), 212, 214-15,

216(A), 439(A)-(C), 463(B), 503(C),

504(B), and 1131; and 40 U.S.C.

321-22). 

Larceny — taking and carrying away

with intent to steal any personal property of another, within the special

maritime and territorial jurisdiction of

the United States, as defined in 18

U.S.C. 7. Stealing, possessing,

Methodology 23
converting to one's own use, or illegally selling or disposing of anything

of value to the United States or any

of its departments or agencies or any

property made or beingmade under

contract for the United States or any

of its departments or agencies.

Stealing anything of value (in excess

of $100) from a bank, the Postal

Service, or any interstate or foreign

shipments by carrier. Receiving or

possessing stolen property or pirate

property. Stealing or obtaining by

fraud any funds, assets, or property

that are the subject of a grant, contract, or other form of assistance,

whether received directly or indirectly, from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration or that belong

to or are entrusted to the custody of

an Indian tribal organization. This offense category excludes the transportation of stolen property (18 U.S.C.

641, 659, 661-62, 1024, 1163, 1660,

1702, 1704, 1707-8, and 2113(B)(C);

42 U.S.C. 3791; and 49 U.S.C.

1472(K1)).

Liquor violations — violations of Internal Revenue Service laws on liquor as well as violations of liquor laws

not cited under these laws, such as

smuggling goods into the United

States; 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;

failing to declare liquor at customs;

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 (18 U.S.C. 545, 1154-56, and

1262-65; 19 U.S.C. 1461; 26 U.S.C.

5061(B), 5113(A), 5115, 5171(A),

5179(A)-80, 5214(A), 5221(A),

5273(B), 5291(A), 5301(A)-(C),

5601(A1)-(A4)(A6)-(A14), 5602,

5603(A)(B), 5604(A1)-(A3),

(A6)-(A13)(A15)-(A19), 5605-7,

5608(A)(B), 5661(A)(B), 5662,

5671-72, 5674, 5676(1-3)(5),

5681(A)-(C), 5682-83, 5685(A)(B),

5686-87, 5689, and 5691(A); and 27

U.S.C. 203, 205(E)(F), 206(A)(B),

207, and 208(A)(D)). 

Mailing or transportation of obscene materials — knowingly using

the mail for mailing obscene or

crime-inciting matter, as defined in

18 U.S.C. 1461 and 39 U.S.C.

3001(E). Also transporting for sale or

distribution, importing, or transporting

any obscene matter in interstate or

foreign commerce (18 U.S.C.

1461-63, 1465, and 1718). 

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 Introduction

to Probation Statistical Reporting, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts,

1981.)

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 postrelease community supervision.

Matter — a potential case under review by a U.S. attorney on which

more than 1 hour is expended.

Matters concluded — 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 — 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. Misuse or nonuse of

a migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamp. Violation of the regulations of Bear River Refuge and

Ouchita National Forest Sanctuary

and Refuge (16 U.S.C. 690(D)(G),

693A, 701, 703-6, 707(A)(B), 708-11,

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 Introduction to Probation Statistical Reporting,

Administrative Office of the U.S.

Courts, 1981.)

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. (This category includes offenses previously called minor

offenses that were reclassified under

the Federal Magistrates Act of 1979.)

Mixed sentence — a sentence requiring the convicted offender to

serve more than 6 months of incarceration, followed by a term of probation. Unless otherwise noted,

offenders receiving mixed sentences

are included in both incarceration and

probation categories (see also "Split

sentence").

Most serious offense — the offense

with the greatest potential penalty.

Motor carrier violations — violations of the Federal statutes listed below concerning the Motor Carrier Act

(15 U.S.C. 1986, 1990, and 1990(C);

and 49 U.S.C. 1(7)(17)(20), 10(1),

15(11)(12), 41(1), 46, 301-4,

322(A)(D), 917(A)(E)(F),

1021(A)(B)(E)(F), and 1159(A)).

Motor vehicle theft — interstate or

foreign transporting, receiving,

24 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
concealing, storing, bartering, selling,

or disposing of any stolen motor vehicle or aircraft (18 U.S.C. 2312 and

2313; and 49 U.S.C. 1472I, I1A, I1B,

NA, and NB). 

Murder — 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. 7). 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.

351(A), 1111-16, 1751A, and

2113(E); 21 U.S.C. 461(C) and

675(C); and 49 U.S.C. 1472(K1)).

National defense violations — violations of the national defense laws

on the Selective Service Acts, the

Defense Production Act, 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), curfew

and restricted areas, exportation of

war materials, trading with an enemy,

and use of uniform and any other violations of the Federalstatutes concerning national defense (50 U.S.C.

210, 321-29, and 824; 50 A U.S.C.

327, 462, 468, and 2061-66; 8 U.S.C.

1304 (d-e), 1306 (a-d); 18 U.S.C.

792-95, 797-99, 953, 2153 (a-b),

2154 (a-b), 2155 (a-b), 2156 (a-b),

2381, 2384-90; and 42 U.S.C. 2273,

2274 (a-b), 2275-77, 2278 A (b),

2278 A (c)(b), and 2462 (g)).

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. 7, by wanton or

reckless disregard for human life.

Also negligent manslaughter of any

Government official, the President of

the United States, the Presidentelect, 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. 351(A), 1112, 1114-16,

and 1751(A); and 49 U.S.C.

1472(K1)). 

Nolo contendere — defendant's

plea in a criminal case indicating that

he or she will not contest charges, but

not admitting or denying guilt.

Not convicted — acquittal by bench

or jury trial, mistrial, and dismissal

(including nolle prosequi and deferred

prosecution).

Offense — violation of U.S. criminal

law. Where more than one offense is

charged, the offense with the greatest

potential penalty is reported.

Other property offenses — offenses that involve the destruction of

property moving in interstate or foreign commerce in the possession of

a common or contract carrier. 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 (15 U.S.C.

1281; 16 U.S.C. 3, 9A, 45A, 45C-E,

114, 121-24, 146, 152, 163, 171,

403H-4, 413, 430H, 430Q, 430V,

460K-3, 460N-3, 460N-5, 460N-7,

471, 476-78, 478A, 479, 481-82, 551,

and 604-6; 18 U.S.C. 1164, 1361-64,

1705-6, 1851-63, 2071(A)(B), and

2072; 24 U.S.C. 286; 40 U.S.C. 53,

101, 193(E)(O)(P)-(R), and 318(C);

and 43 U.S.C. 316K). 

Other public-order offenses — 

violations of laws pertaining to abortion; bigamy; disorderly conduct on

the U.S. Capitol grounds; civil disorder; hunting, trapping, or fishing on

Indian lands or military areas and

zones; and obscene or harassing

telephone calls (18 U.S.C. 231, 1165,

1384-85, and 2101; 40 U.S.C.

193(B)-(D)(F)(G)(O)(P); and 47

U.S.C. 223). Included in "public order, non-regulatory offenses" (q.v.).

Other regulatory offenses — violations of civil rights, election laws, the

Communication Act (including wire

tapping and wire interception), contempt, laws regarding congressional

contempt, custom laws (except narcotics and liquor), importation of injurious animals and birds, interstate

commerce (the Connally Act, Hot Oil

Act, transportation or importation of

prison-made goods, and the Railroad

and Transportation Act), maritime

and shipping laws, laws regarding

stowaways, the Federal Boat Safety

Act of 1971, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, U.S. postal laws (excluding injury to postal property),

intimidation of witness laws, aircraft

regulations, explosives(except in vessels), the Gold Acts, train wrecking,

and any other regulatory offenses not

listed above. (For citations refer to

the United States Title and Code

Criminal Offense Citations, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, September 1982.)

Other sex offenses — transporting,

coercing, or enticing any women 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, debauchery,

or any other immoral purpose. Importing, maintaining, or harboring any

women for purposes of prostitution or

debauchery or for any other immoral

purpose. These offenses may be either violent or nonviolent (8 U.S.C.

1328 and 18 U.S.C. 2421-24). 

Methodology 25
Parole — period of supervision after

release from custody before the expiration of sentence.

Perjury — 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. Making

any false material declarations under

oath in any proceeding before or ancillary to any court or grand jury of

the United States. This offense also

includes any officers and employees

of the Government listed under 13

U.S.C. 21-25 who willfully or knowingly furnish or cause to be furnished

any false information or statement (8

U.S.C. 1357(B), 13 U.S.C. 213, 18

U.S.C. 1621-23, and 22 U.S.C.

1203). 

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 — criminal offense

punishable by imprisonment for a

term not exceeding 6 months or a

fine not more than $500 or both (18

U.S.C. 1(3)).

Possession — 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. 812). Also

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. 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 (21 U.S.C.

843(A3)(A5), 844(A), 846, 955, and

962-63).

Pretrial diversion — an agreement

to defer (and possibly drop) prosecution conditioned on the defendant's

good behavior and/or participation in

programs 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.

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 "nonfraudulent" only for the purpose of

distinguishing them from the category

"property offenses, fraudulent,"

above.

Public-order, non-regulatory offenses — 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" (q.v.). These offenses are

termed "non-regulatory" only for the

purpose of distinguishing them from

the category "public order, regulatory

offenses," below.

Public-order, regulatory offenses 

— 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, non-regulatory

offenses" above. 

Q.v. — refer to the appropriate entry

in this glossary for a definition of

terms marked "(q.v.)."

Racketeering and extortion — 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.

For officers or employees of the

United States, or anyone representing himself or herself as such, obtaining property or money from another,

with his or her consent induced by actual or threatened force, violence,

blackmail, or 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 to kidnap any person with intent to

extort (18 U.S.C. 872-74, 875(A-D),

876-77, 892-94, 1951-52, 1954,

1962(A-D), and 1963; 19 U.S.C. 60;

27 U.S.C. 205(C); and 42 U.S.C.

2703(B)). 

Rape — 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. 7 (18

U.S.C. 113(A), and 2031-32; and 49

U.S.C. 1472(K1)). 

Remove — transfer from Federal

court (usually to a State court).

26 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93
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. 7). Also 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 (18 U.S.C. 113(B), 1661,

1991, 2111-12, 2113(A)(D)(E), and

2114; and 49 U.S.C. 1472(K1)). 

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 "Youth sentence.")

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. 7).

Split sentence — a sentence requiring the convicted person to serve a

period of confinement of 6 months or

less, followed by a period of probation. Unless otherwise noted, convicted offenders receiving split

sentences are included in both the incarceration and probation categories

(see "Mixed sentence").

Stale — too old to support successful

prosecution.

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 fraud;

evading or defeating tax; willful failure to file; fraudulently withholding on

exemption certificate or failing to supply information; counterfeiting any

stamps with intent to defraud the collection or payment of tax; willful failure to collect or pay tax; putting

fraudulent or false statements on tax

returns; failure to obey summons to

produce any papers concerning

taxes; preparers of returns disclosing

or using any information for any purpose other than to assist in preparing

returns; failing to furnish receipts for

employees of tax withheld; failing to

furnish information relating to certain

trusts, annuity, and bond purchase

plans; 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 title (26 U.S.C.

3402, 4411-12, 4918(E)(H),

4919(B2), 5751(A1)(A2), 5752(A)-(D),

5762(A1)-(A11)(B), 6047(A)-(C),

6051, 6056, 6331, 6420(E2),

6421(F2), 6424(D2), 6427(E2), 6674,

7001, 7121-22, 7201-5,

7206(1)-(4)(5A)(5B), 7207, 7208(1),

7210, 7213(A1)-(A3)(B)-(D), 7215(A),

7216, 7231-32, 7322(2), 7261-62,

7272(A), 7512, 7513(B), 7602-3, and

7604(B); and 50A U.S.C. 243(A)). 

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 — [Pretrial services]

execution of sentence, acquittal, dismissal, diversion, or fugitive status.

[U.S. district court] conviction, acquittal, or dismissal.

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.

871). 

Traffic offenses — driving while intoxicated or any moving or parking

violations on Federal lands (40

U.S.C. 212 B).

Trafficking — importing any controlled substance in schedule I, II, III,

IV, or V (as defined by 21 U.S.C.

812). Manufacturing, distributing,

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. 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. Obtaining a prescription of a controlled substance in

schedule III or IV without a written or

oral prescription. Distributing for reasons other than medical a controlled

substance in schedule V. Illegally

crossing the border if the individual is

addicted to or using drugs or has

been convicted of any violation of

narcotics or marijuana laws (18

U.S.C. 1407; and 21 U.S.C.

825(A)-(D), 829(B)(C),

841(A)(B1A)(B2)-(B4), 842(A4)-(A8),

Methodology 27
843(A1)(A2)(A5)(B), 845(A)(B), 846,

952(A)(B), 953(A)(C)(E), 954-55,

957, 959, 960(A1)(B2), 961(2), and

962-63).

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.

2314-17). 

Trial conviction — conviction by

judge or jury after trial.

True bill — an indictment.

United States — the territory occupied by the 50 States, the District of

Columbia (q.v.), Guam, Puerto Rico,

and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

U.S. attorneys — all United States

attorneys. Prosecutorial data in this

publication come from the central

data system 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

(q.v.) 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, rape, other sex offenses (some of which may be

nonviolent), kidnaping, and threats

against the President. (See specific

offenses for citations.)

Weapons violations — violations 

of any of the provisions of sections

922 and 923 of title 18 concerning

the manufacturing, importing, possessing, receiving, and licensing of 

firearms and ammunition. 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. 7) any switchblade knife. 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. Carrying on the U.S. Capitol grounds or

within U.S. Capitol buildings any firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive,

or incendiary device (2 U.S.C.

167(D); 15 U.S.C. 1242-43; 18

U.S.C. 922(A)-(M), 923, and

924(A)-(C); 18A U.S.C.

1202(A1)-(A5),(B1)(B5); 26 U.S.C.

5801-2, 5811-12, 5821-22, 5841-44,

5851, 5861(A)-(L), and 5871; 40

U.S.C. 193F(A); and 49 U.S.C.

1472(L1)(L2)). 

Youth sentence — a sentence of

confinement under the Youth Corrections Act (18 U.S.C. 5010(B)(C)).

28 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93