UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 201
United States Sentencing Commission

One Columbus Circle, N.E.

Washington, DC 20002

www.ussc.gov

Patti B. Saris

Chair

William B. Carr, Jr.

Vice Chair

Ketanji B. Jackson

Vice Chair

Ricardo H. Hinojosa

Commissioner

Beryl A. Howell

Commissioner

Dabney L. Friedrich

Commissioner

Isaac Fulwood, Jr.

Ex Officio

Jonathan J. Wroblewski

Ex Officio

Judith W. Sheon

Staff Director

Glenn R. Schmitt

Director

Office of Research and Data

Louis Reedt

Acting Deputy Director

Office of Research and Data

September 2012
Louis Reedt

Melissa Reimer

Office of Research and Data

Overview of Federal

Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 2011

The United States Sentencing Commission1 received information

on 86,361 federal criminal cases in which the offender was

sentenced in fiscal year 2011.2 Among these cases, 86,201

involved an individual offender and 160 involved a corporation or

“organizational” offender. This publication provides a brief

overview of those cases.

1

Of the 86,201 guideline cases, 25,813 were drug cases. Of these, 1,079 were excluded due

to missing drug type. The Drug category includes the following offense types: drug

trafficking, use of a communication facility, and simple possession. The Non-Fraud White

Collar category includes the following offense types: embezzlement, forgery/counterfeiting,

bribery, money laundering, and tax. Descriptions of these variables are provided in Appendix

A of the 2011 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.

SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2011 Datafile, USSCFY11.

The Case Load at a Glance

The vast majority of the cases reported to the

Commission involve an individual defendant. Over

the last decade, the number of these cases has

increased every year except one.3 In fiscal year

2011, the increase was 2.7 percent over the number

of such cases in fiscal year 2010. Cases involving

immigration, drugs, fraud, or firearms continue to be

the most common federal criminal cases and make up

the vast majority of federal felonies and Class A

misdemeanors. These four crime types have been

the most common for the last decade. In fiscal year

2011, these crimes accounted for 83.0 percent of all

cases reported to the Commission.

Immigration cases continued to be the fastest growing

segment of cases in the federal system. In fiscal year

2011, there were 29,717 immigration cases reported

to the Commission, an increase of 1,213 cases from

the prior fiscal year. In the last ten fiscal years, the

number of cases of this type has increased by 153.2

percent, while the total federal caseload has grown by

33.9 percent. As a result, the portion of the annual

caseload attributable to immigration cases has

increased from 18.6 percent in fiscal year 2002 to

34.9 percent in fiscal year 2011. Immigration cases

have been the most common serious federal crime

since fiscal year 2009.
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United States Sentencing Commission

Hispanic

50.4%

Black

19.8%

White

26.3%

Other

3.5%

U.S. Citizen

52.0%

Non-U.S.

Citizen 48.0%

Male 86.5%

Female

13.5%

The number of drug cases has been relatively stable over the last

five fiscal years, but because of the overall increase in federal

cases, the portion of the criminal caseload attributable to those

cases decreased to 29.1 percent in fiscal year 2011. While this is

a decrease compared with fiscal year 2007, when 34.4 percent of

the criminal caseload was attributed to drug cases, it represents a

slight increase from last year, when 28.9 percent of the criminal

caseload was comprised of drug cases. Firearms cases were 9.2

percent of the caseload in fiscal year 2011, a decrease of 2.4

percentage points from five years ago. The proportion of fraud

cases over that period also was relatively stable at 9.8 percent in

fiscal year 2011, but has declined slightly from 10.7 percent in

fiscal year 2007.

Offender Characteristics

In fiscal year 2011, 52.0 percent of all offenders were United

States citizens. However, the percentage of non-citizen offenders

has risen substantially over the last ten years, up 10.6 percentage

points from fiscal year 2007, and up 14.4 percentage points from

fiscal year 2002. Most non-citizens offenders committed an

immigration offense (69.5%), followed by drug trafficking offenses

(18.7%).

The vast majority of criminal offenders are men, and their

proportion of the total offender population has remained constant

for more than a decade. In fiscal year 2011, 86.5 percent of all

offenders were men, compared with 86.5 percent in fiscal year

2007, and 86.0 percent in fiscal year 2002. Among female

offenders, the most common crime was drug trafficking (28.8% of

all women offenders). Embezzlement was the only crime for which

female offenders outnumber male offenders (50.3% to 49.7%).

In fiscal year 2011, 50.4 percent of all offenders were Hispanic,

while 26.3 percent were White and 19.8 percent were Black.

However, the racial composition of offenders varied widely across

offense types, and most Hispanic offenders (87.0%) were

sentenced for one of two types of offenses — immigration or drug

trafficking crimes. However, even among drug offenders, racial
Prison Only

86.9%

Prison/Split

2.9%

Probation/

Confinement

3.1%

Probation

Only

7.1%

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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2011

The percentage of

non-citizen offenders has

continued to rise.

and ethnic background varied depending on the type of drug

involved in the crime.

More than half of the federal offenders sentenced in fiscal year

2011 (52.0%) had not completed high school, and only 5.5 percent

of offenders had completed college. The average age of offenders

in fiscal year 2011 was 35 years; this average has remained

relatively unchanged over time.

Case Disposition

The vast majority of convicted defendants plead guilty. In fiscal

year 2011, more than 96 percent of all offenders did so, a rate that

has been largely the same for ten years. When offenders pled

guilty, 44.0 percent received a sentence below the applicable

sentencing guideline range, either at the request of the

government, at their own request, or initiated by the court.

Approximately 61 percent (61.5%) of these below range sentences

were requested by the government, usually because the defendant

had provided substantial assistance to the government or had

agreed to have his or her case handled as part of an early

disposition program.

In the 3.1 percent of cases in which offenders did not plead guilty,

34.4 percent received a sentence below the guideline range.

Approximately six percent (6.1%) of these below range sentences

were requested by the government.

Most federal offenders convicted of a felony or Class A

misdemeanor receive a sentence of incarceration. In fiscal year

2011, 7.1 percent of offenders received a sentence of probation
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United States Sentencing Commission

The majority of offenders

received a prison term of

less than five years.

(i.e., where no type of confinement was imposed), a rate that over

time has decreased from a high of 14.8 percent in 1993. Another

3.1 percent were sentenced to periods of both probation and some

type of confinement, and 2.9 percent were sentenced to a

combination of imprisonment and community confinement, such as

in a half-way house or through home confinement.

The length of imprisonment imposed on offenders varies greatly

depending on the seriousness of the offense and the criminal

history of the offender. In fiscal year 2011, 72.7 percent of

offenders received a sentence of less than five years, 15.5 percent

of offenders received a sentence of five or more years but less

than ten years, and 11.8 percent received a sentence of ten or

more years, excluding life imprisonment. In addition, 206

offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment and no offenders

were sentenced to death.

Monetary fines were imposed in 9.0 percent of all cases in which

an individual was sentenced in fiscal year 2011, either as the sole

punishment or combined with some other sanction. Fines were

most commonly imposed in antitrust cases (60.0%), environmental

cases (57.2%), and gambling/lottery cases (55.0%). When the

offender was an organization, courts imposed a fine in seven out

of every ten cases (70.6%).

Courts ordered restitution to be paid to the victim of the crime in

13.3 percent of all cases in which the offender was an individual.

Restitution was most commonly ordered in cases involving arson

(87.3%) embezzlement (86.7%), robbery (82.3%), auto theft

(74.1%), and larceny (68.6%). Restitution was ordered in 32.5

percent of the cases with an organizational offender.

Virtually all offenders who were sentenced to imprisonment also

were sentenced to serve a period of supervised release following

the completion of their confinement. In fiscal year 2011, 92.4

percent of offenders sentenced to incarceration also were

sentenced to serve a period of supervised release. The average

length of supervised release imposed was 46 months. The median

length of supervised release was 36 months.
5

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2011

More than a third of federal

criminal cases involved

immigration offenses.

Methamphetamine cases

have become more

prevalent than crack

cocaine cases.

The Most Common Crimes

Immigration

Immigration offenses4 were the most common serious federal

crime, representing 34.9 percent of the federal criminal case load

for fiscal year 2011. The majority of these offenses involved either

the unlawful reentry into the United States or remaining in the

United States without authority (83.4%). Another 10.0 percent

involved alien smuggling activities.

The offenders sentenced under immigration guidelines are very

different from other offenders. For example, although United

States citizens committed the majority of all federal crimes

(52.0%), the overwhelming majority (93.8%) of immigration

offenses were committed by non-citizens.5 Similarly, Hispanics

accounted for only 31.3 percent of non-immigration offenders, but

89.3 percent of immigration offenders. Immigration offenders had

significantly less education than other offenders. More than 80

percent of immigration offenders had less than a high school

education, compared with less than 40 percent of offenders

convicted of other crimes. While men committed most (84.4%)

federal crimes not involving an immigration offense, men

committed an even higher proportion of immigration crimes

(93.3%).

Drugs

Until fiscal year 2009, drug offenses6 had been the most common

federal crime during the 20 years for which the Commission has

released sentencing data. In fiscal year 2011, 25,813 offenders

were convicted of a drug crime, the majority involving the

manufacture, sale, or transportation of a drug. Of these, 902

offenders were convicted of an offense involving simple

possession of a drug.7

Offenses involving cocaine, in either powder form or base (crack)

form, were the most common drug crimes, accounting for 41.2

percent of the offenders sentenced under the Chapter Two drug

guidelines. These cases were almost evenly split until fiscal year

2008. After that, powder cocaine cases became the more

prevalent of the two forms of cocaine. The gap between them is
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United States Sentencing Commission

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

WHITE BLACK HISPANIC OTHER

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,215 6,086 24.1 6,684 26.5 11,692 46.4 753 3.0

Powder Cocaine 6,022 949 15.8 1,474 24.5 3,518 58.4 81 1.3

Crack Cocaine 4,353 265 6.1 3,614 83.0 434 10.0 40 0.9

Heroin 1,804 268 14.9 608 33.7 911 50.5 17 0.9

Marijuana 6,942 1,567 22.6 555 8.0 4,614 66.5 206 3.0

Methamphetamine 4,546 2,161 47.5 105 2.3 2,051 45.1 229 5.0

Other 1,548 876 56.6 328 21.2 164 10.6 180 11.6

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

U.S. CITIZEN NON-U.S. CITIZEN

Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,253 17,630 69.8 7,623 30.2

Powder Cocaine 6,029 4,029 66.8 2,000 33.2

Crack Cocaine 4,360 4,239 97.2 121 2.8

Heroin 1,807 1,224 67.7 583 32.3

Marijuana 6,953 3,688 53.0 3,265 47.0

Methamphetamine 4,554 3,055 67.1 1,499 32.9

Other 1,550 1,395 90.0 155 10.0

widest this year, with powder cocaine accounting for 23.9 percent

of drug offenses and crack cocaine accounting for 17.3 percent of

drug offenses. After cocaine offenses (which combines powder

and crack cocaine offenses), marijuana offenses were the next

most common, representing 27.5 percent of all drug crimes. In

fact, marijuana cases were more prevalent than either crack

cocaine or powder cocaine cases. Drug offenses involving

methamphetamine represented 18.0 percent of all drug crimes.

This is the first year in which methamphetamine cases exceeded

the proportion of crack cocaine cases. Heroin cases were the

least common of the major drug offenses, accounting for 7.2

percent of all drug crimes.
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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2011

Eighteen percent of all drug

cases received a lower

guideline range for minor

or minimal role.

Most drug offenders were United States citizens, but the

percentage of drug offenders who are citizens varied widely

depending on the type of drug involved in the offense. For

example, 97.2 percent of crack cocaine offenders were United

States citizens, while only 53.0 percent of marijuana offenders

were United States citizens. Non-citizens were most often

convicted of an offense involving marijuana. In fiscal year 2011,

42.8 percent of all non-citizen drug offenders committed an offense

involving marijuana.

The race of drug offenders varied even more widely by type of

drug involved in the offense. More than 45 percent (46.4%) of all

drug offenders convicted in federal court were Hispanic, with Black

offenders accounting for 26.5 percent of all drug offenders and

White offenders representing 24.1 percent of all drug offenders.

Yet, in cases involving methamphetamine, 47.5 percent of the

offenders were White. In crack cocaine cases, 83.0 percent of

those convicted were Black.

Weapons were involved in drug crimes 15.6 percent of the time.

As above, the rate of weapon involvement varied depending on the

type of drug involved, ranging from 25.8 percent of crack cocaine

cases to 7.3 percent of marijuana cases.

Several factors affect the average prison sentence for drug

offenders, including statutory mandatory minimum punishments,

the quantity of the drugs involved in the case, the prior criminal

history of the offender, and whether the offender assisted the

government in the investigation of his or her crime and other

crimes. Because of these factors, comparisons of the average

sentence length in the different types of drug cases should be

made cautiously. In fiscal year 2011, the average punishment for

drug crimes ranged from a high of 104 months of imprisonment for

crack cocaine offenders (with a median sentence of 84 months) to

36 months for marijuana offenders (with a median sentence of 24

months).

An offender’s role in the offense also can affect the guideline range

that judges consider when imposing punishment. In fiscal year

2011, judges in 18.0 percent of all drug cases determined that the
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United States Sentencing Commission

SIx percent of all drug cases

received a higher guideline

range for aggravating role.

applicable guideline range should be lowered because of the

offender’s minor or minimal role in the offense. In marijuana

cases, this adjustment to the guideline range occurred 25.7

percent of the time. In contrast, courts found such an adjustment

warranted in only 3.6 percent of crack cocaine cases. In another

6.0 percent of drug cases, the court determined that the applicable

guideline range should be increased because of the offender’s role

in the offense as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor.

Mandatory minimum sentences enacted by Congress played a

large part in determining the sentence for these offenders, either

outright or through the impact of these statutes on the structure of

the guidelines. In fiscal year 2011, crack cocaine offenders and
9

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2011

More than three times as

many powder cocaine

offenders as crack cocaine

offenders were assigned to

Criminal History Category I.

powder cocaine offenders were convicted of an offense that

provided for the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence at

virtually the same rate (74.0% for crack cocaine offenders and

76.0% for powder cocaine offenders).8 However, 32.2 percent of

powder cocaine offenders obtained relief from a mandatory

minimum sentence through the “safety valve” exception to such

sentences, which requires courts to sentence an offender without

regard to any otherwise applicable mandatory minimum

punishment when certain conditions are met.9 In contrast, less

than 10 percent of crack cocaine offenders obtained this relief.

The differing criminal histories of these two categories of offenders

account for much of this result. Only offenders assigned to

Criminal History Category I (offenders with a criminal history score

of zero or one) are eligible to receive the benefit of the safety

valve. In fiscal year 2011, 60.7 percent of powder cocaine

offenders were assigned to CHC I while only 20.2 percent of crack

cocaine offenders were assigned to that category.

As discussed above, the offender’s prior criminal history is a key

factor in determining the guideline range. In fiscal year 2011,

crack cocaine offenders had, on average, a more serious criminal

history than any other category of drug offender, including powder

cocaine offenders. Under the guidelines, offenders are assigned

to one of six criminal history categories (CHCs) based on their

prior criminal history.10 Powder cocaine offenders were assigned

to the most serious criminal history category (CHC VI) in 6.6

percent of powder cocaine cases, whereas crack cocaine

offenders were assigned to that category in 26.9 percent of all

crack cocaine cases. In contrast, 53.3 percent of heroin offenders

were assigned to CHC I and 13.2 percent assigned to CHC VI. In

methamphetamine cases, 50.0 percent of offenders were assigned

to CHC I and 9.4 percent to CHC VI. Offenders convicted of

marijuana offenses generally had the least serious criminal

histories, with 68.0 percent assigned to CHC I and 3.3 percent to

CHC VI.11

Fraud

Crimes involving fraud accounted for the third largest portion

(9.8%) of federal criminal cases in fiscal year 2011. The losses in

The median loss amount in

fraud cases was $91,124.
10

United States Sentencing Commission

Half of firearms cases

involved illegal possession

of a weapon by a felon.

Organizational cases

increased by more than

seven percent in fiscal year

2011.

these cases ranged from $0 (no loss, 995 cases) to $583,573,600,

with an average loss amount of $1,631,634 and a median loss

amount of $91,124. Identity theft crimes accounted for a relatively

small number (775) of these cases in fiscal year 2011. While this

is a substantial increase from the 577 such crimes reported in

fiscal year 2007, it is a reduction from fiscal year 2009 when there

were 901 such cases.

Firearms and other weapons

Firearms crimes13 were 9.2 percent of the total federal criminal

convictions for fiscal year 2011. Of the 7,858 firearms cases

reported to the Commission, 24.3 percent (1,911) involved the

possession or use of a firearm in connection with a crime of

violence or drug trafficking crime.14 Half of the cases (3,992)

involved a convicted felon who illegally possessed a firearm.15

Of all cases with complete guideline application information

reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2011, in 7.8 percent of

cases (5,946 cases) a sentence was enhanced (either through

application of an SOC when available or statutorily) because a

firearm or other dangerous weapon (e.g., knife) was involved in the

offense. However, a weapon was involved twice as often in drug

cases (15.6%). Weapons were present most often in crack

cocaine cases (25.8%) and least often in marijuana cases (7.3%).

Organizational Cases

Organizations such as corporations and partnerships can be

prosecuted for violating federal criminal law, and 160 organizations

were sentenced for at least one federal criminal offense in fiscal

year 2011. This number is a 7.4 percent increase from the 149

cases reported in fiscal year 2010, however the number of

organizational defendants convicted continued to remain lower

than in earlier years. For example, 200 organizational defendants

were sentenced in fiscal year 2003, and 255 organizational

defendants were sentenced in fiscal year 1999.

More than ninety-four percent of the organizational offenders

sentenced in fiscal year 2011 pled guilty to one or more charges.

The most common crimes for which organizational defendants

were convicted were fraud and environmental crimes.
Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2011

11

Organizational offenders were sentenced to pay only a fine in 85

cases. In an additional 28 cases the offender was sentenced to

pay restitution to the victim of the crime as well as to pay a fine. In

24 cases, the organization was sentenced to pay restitution only.

No fine or restitution was imposed in 23 cases, although other

sanctions were imposed in some of these cases. Additionally, of

the 160 organizational offenders, 111 received some term of

probation, and 31 were ordered to make improvements in

compliance or ethics procedures.

Resentencings and Other Modifications of Sentence

In fiscal year 2011, the Commission received documentation on

3,588 resentencings or other modifications of sentence. Almost

half of these were a reduction in sentence for substantial

assistance to the government after sentencing (49.0%).16 The next

most common type of resentencing, at 17.9%, occurred after

remand of a case that had been appealed to a circuit court. The

third most common type of resentencing was orders for

modifications of restitution (13.3%).

For More Information

More information on these cases can

be found in the Commission’s 2011

Annual Report, 2011 Sourcebook of

Federal Sentencing Statistics, and

Guideline Application Frequencies for

Fiscal Year 2011. The Annual Report

and Sourcebook are available in hard

copy format through the Commission

and all three documents, together with

other reports of sentencing data, are

available in electronic format at the

Commission’s website at

www.ussc.gov.
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United States Sentencing Commission

Endnotes

1. The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of

government. Its principal purposes are (1) to establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal

courts, including guidelines to be consulted regarding the appropriate form and severity of punishment

for offenders convicted of federal crimes; (2) to advise and assist Congress and the executive branch in

the development of effective and efficient crime policy; and (3) to collect, analyze, research, and

distribute a broad array of information on federal crime and sentencing issues.

2. The Commission receives information from the courts on cases in which the defendant has been

convicted of a felony or Class A misdemeanor.

3. In fiscal year 2004, the number of cases reported to the Commission fell by 0.3%. For more

information about changes in the federal criminal caseload over the last decade, see Louis Reedt &

Jessica Widico-Stroop, United States Sentencing Commission, Changing Face of Federal Criminal

Sentencing: Seventeen Years of Growth in the Federal Sentencing Caseload (2009).

4. Immigration offense means, in general, a case in which at least one of the statutes of conviction

involved trafficking in passports or entry documents; failure to surrender naturalization certificates;

fraudulently acquiring passports; alien smuggling; unlawful presence in the United States; or

fraudulently acquiring entry documents.

5. Non-citizens primarily are convicted of immigration crimes. Non-citizens were the offenders in only

22.6 percent of federal crimes other than immigration crimes in fiscal year 2011.

6. Drug offense means, in general, a case in which at least one of the statutes of conviction recorded

by the Commission was an offense under the Controlled Substances Act (title 21) of the United States

Code.

7. This number also includes persons convicted of one or more crimes in addition to a drug offense.

8. Some of these offenders received a sentence that was lower than the applicable statutory mandatory

minimum punishment due to the operation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3553(e) or (f). Subsection (e) authorizes

courts to impose a sentence that is below a statutory mandatory minimum when the offender has

provided substantial assistance to the government in investigating or prosecuting another offender.

Subsection (f) requires courts to impose a sentence on a non-violent offender with no or limited criminal

background without regard to a statutory mandatory minimum punishment when certain other conditions

are met.

9. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).

10. The criminal history score establishes the criminal history category (CHC) for an offender. See

USSG, Ch.4. The CHC, along with the final offense level, determines the sentencing range under the

guidelines.

11. For more information on sentencing issues involving cocaine drug cases, see United States

Sentencing Commission, Report to Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy (2007).

12. Identity theft crimes are those fraud cases in which one or more of the offenses of conviction was

18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7) or 18 U.S.C. § 1028A. The Commission includes these cases with other fraud

cases when it reports sentencing statistics.

13. Firearms crime includes unlawful possession or transportation of firearms or ammunition; unlawful

trafficking in explosives; possession of guns or explosives in a federal facility, a school, or on an aircraft;

the use of fire or explosives to commit a felony; and the use of firearms or ammunition during a crime.

14. I.e., a case in which 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) was the statute of conviction.

15. I.e., a case in which 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) was the statute of conviction.

16. See Fed R. Crim. P. 35(b).