UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 2007
Glenn R. Schmitt

Director

Office of Research and Data

In fiscal year 2007, the United States Sentencing Commission1

received information on 73,062 new federal criminal cases.2

Among these cases, 72,865 involved an individual defendant and

197 involved a corporation or other “organizational” defendant.

This publication provides a brief overview of cases involving

individual or organizational offenders.

The Caseload at a Glance

Cases involving an individual defendant

account for most of the cases reported to the

Commission. The number of these cases has

steadily increased over time, although in fiscal

year 2007, the increase was less than

one-half of one percent (0.39%) from the

number of such cases in fiscal year 2006.

Cases involving drugs, immigration, firearms,

or fraud are the most common federal

crimes.3 They account for the vast majority of

federal criminal cases. In fiscal year 2007,

these four case types accounted for 81

percent of the federal criminal caseload.

In the past five years, the portion of the

annual caseload that were immigration cases

increased to 24.3 percent in fiscal year 2007

from 18.6 percent in fiscal year 2002. Over

that time, the number of drug cases

prosecuted in federal court has remained

relatively constant (25,372 in fiscal year

2007). However, the portion of the criminal

caseload represented by those cases

decreased by 6.1 percent, to 34.4 percent in

fiscal year 2007 compared with 40.5 percent

in fiscal year 2002. Firearm cases were 11.6

percent of the caseload in fiscal year 2007, an

Overview of Federal

Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 2007

Drugs 34.4%

Robbery 1.6%

Firearms 11.6%

Immigration 24.3%

Fraud 10.7%

Non-Fraud White Collar 4.7%

Larceny 2.4%

Other 10.2%

Other 3.7%

Methamphetamine 20.3%

Marijuana 25.2%

Heroin 5.5%

Crack Cocaine 20.7%

Powder Cocaine 24.7%

For definitions of these categories, see Appendix A of the

2007 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.
2

United States Sentencing Commission

increase of 3.4 percent from fiscal year 2002. The portion of fraud

cases has remained almost unchanged, at 10.7 percent in fiscal

year 2007 as compared with 11.3 percent in fiscal year 2002.

Who the Offenders Are

Most persons convicted of federal crimes are United States

citizens. In fiscal year 2007, 62.6 percent of all offenders were

Americans. However, the percentage of non-citizen offenders has

risen steadily over the last ten years, up 3.8 percent from fiscal

year 2002 and up 8.4 percent from fiscal year 1997. Most

non-citizens convicted of crimes in federal court were convicted of

an immigration offense (58.4%). The next most common type of

offense committed by non-citizens was drug trafficking (27.7%).

Most criminal offenders are men, a fact that has gone largely

unchanged for the past ten years. In fiscal year 2007, 86.5

percent of all offenders were men, compared with 86.0 percent in

fiscal year 2002 and 85.0 percent in fiscal year 1997. The most

common crime among female offenders was drug crime (31.7% of

all women offenders). Embezzlement was the only crime where

women offenders outnumbered men.

Overall, there were more Hispanic offenders in fiscal year 2007

than offenders of any other racial or ethnic background. Hispanic

offenders represented 43.0 percent of all offenders that year, while

28.8 percent of offenders were White and 24.1 percent were

Black. The racial composition of offenders varied widely across

the type of crimes, however, with virtually all (84.5%) of the

Hispanic offenders sentenced for either drug or immigration

crimes. And, as discussed in greater detail below, even among

drug offenders, the racial background varied depending on the

drug involved in the crime.

Almost half of the federal offenders sentenced in fiscal year 2007

(48.2%) had not completed high school, and only 5.9 percent had

completed college. The average age of federal offenders in fiscal

year 2007 was 35 years. This average has remained relatively

unchanged for more than 15 years.

Male

86.5%

Female

13.5%

White

28.8%

Hispanic

43%

Black

24.1%

Other

4.1%

U.S. Citizen

62.6%

Non-U.S. Citizen

37.4%
3

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2007

How Offenders Were Convicted and Sentenced

The vast majority of federal defendants plead guilty. In fiscal year

2007, more than 95 percent of all offenders did so, and this rate

has been largely unchanged for ten years. When offenders pled

guilty, 38.3 percent received a sentence below the applicable

guideline range, either at the request of the government or their

own request. In these cases, a lower sentence was requested by

the government 69.6 percent of the time, usually because the

defendant provided substantial assistance to the government or

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

disposition program. When offenders did not plead guilty, only

24.1 percent received a sentence below the guideline range. In

those cases, the government requested the lower sentence in just

under two percent of the cases.

Most federal offenders receive a sentence of incarceration. In

fiscal year 2007, only 7.7 percent of offenders received a sentence

of probation (i.e., where no type of confinement was imposed), a

rate that has decreased steadily from a high of 13.0 percent in

1997. Another 3.9 percent were sentenced to periods of both

probation and confinement, and 3.1 percent were sentenced to a

combination of incarceration and community confinement, such as

half-way house residency or home confinement. Virtually all

offenders who were incarcerated also were sentenced to serve a

period of supervised release following the completion of their

confinement. In fiscal year 2007, more than 95 percent of

offenders sentenced to incarceration also were sentenced to serve

Virtually all offenders who

were incarcerated also were

sentenced to serve a period

of supervised release

following the completion of

their confinement.

Prison Only

85.3%

Prison/Split

3.1%

Probation/Confinement

3.9%

Probation Only

7.7%

More than 95 percent of

offenders pled guilty.
4

United States Sentencing Commission

a period of supervised release. The average length of supervised

release was 42 months.

A monetary fine was imposed as punishment in 12.3 percent of all

cases in which an individual was the offender and sentenced in

fiscal 2007, either as the sole punishment or combined with some

other sanction. Fines were most commonly imposed in antitrust

(73.3%), environmental (69.3%), food and drug (62.0%), and drug

possession cases (61.1%). Fines were imposed on 68.4 percent

of organizational offenders.

Courts ordered that restitution be paid to the victims of the crime in

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

Restitution was most commonly ordered in embezzlement

(81.2%), robbery (77.1%), arson (71.7%), and burglary cases

(66.7%). Restitution was ordered in slightly more than 31 percent

of the organizational offender cases sentenced in fiscal year 2007.

The Most Common Crimes

Drugs

Offenses involving illegal drugs accounted for 34.4 percent of the

federal criminal caseload, the largest of any type of crime. Drug

crime4 has been the most commonly prosecuted crime in the

federal courts throughout the period in which the Commission has

released sentencing data (since fiscal year 1988). In fiscal year

2007, 25,372 offenders were convicted of a drug crime, the

majority involving the manufacture, sale, or transportation of the

drug.5 Offenses involving cocaine (in either powder form or base

(“crack”) form) were the most common drug crimes, accounting for

more than 45 percent of all such crimes. Marijuana cases were

the next most common, representing slightly more than 25 percent

of all drug cases. Cases involving methamphetamine represented

20.3 percent of all drug cases that year. Heroin cases were the

least common type of drug crime, accounting for 5.5 percent of all

drug cases.

Most drug offenders were citizens, but citizenship varies widely

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

example, more than 96 percent of crack cocaine offenders were

citizens while only 56.5 percent of heroin offenders were citizens.

In fiscal year 2007,

25,372 offenders were

convicted of a drug crime,

the majority involving the

manufacture, sale, or

transportation of the drug.
5

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2007

The race of drug offenders varied even more widely. More than

40 percent of all drug offenders convicted in federal court were

Hispanic, with Black offenders accounting for 29.5 percent of all

drug offenders and White offenders representing 24.3 percent of

those offenders. Yet, in cases involving methamphetamine, more

than half of the offenders were White. In crack cocaine cases,

82.7 percent of those convicted were Black. These differences

result from several factors, including where the drug is produced,

who traffics it into the United States when it is made or grown

outside of the country, and the location of the users of the type of

drug (i.e., whether in urban or rural area).

Weapons are involved in the drug crimes prosecuted in federal

courts slightly more than 17 percent of the time. Again, as with

race, the rate of weapon involvement varied depending on the

type of drug involved, ranging from about 30 percent of crack

cocaine cases to eight percent of marijuana cases. The average

prison sentence for drug offenders can be determined by a

number of factors, 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 among

the average sentence length of types of drug cases should be

made cautiously. In fiscal year 2007, the average punishment for

drug crimes ranged from a high of 129 months for crack cocaine

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

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

Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,453 18,117 71.2 7,336 28.8

Powder Cocaine 6,267 3,954 63.1 2,313 36.9

Crack Cocaine 5,474 5,286 96.6 188 3.4

Heroin 1,381 780 56.5 601 43.5

Marijuana 6,289 3,695 58.8 2,594 41.2

Methamphetamine 5,103 3,667 71.9 1,436 28.1

Other 939 735 78.3 204 21.7
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United States Sentencing Commission

offenders (with a median sentence of 120 months) to 40 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 a judge considers when imposing punishment. In fiscal year

2007, in 20.5 percent of all drug cases, the court determined that

the applicable guideline range should be lowered because of the

offender’s mitigating role in the offense. In marijuana cases, this

adjustment to the guideline range occurred more than 38 percent

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

warranted in only 5.5 percent of crack cocaine cases.

Cocaine cases represented the largest portion of the federal drug

caseload. These cases were almost evenly split between offenses

involving crack cocaine and offenses involving powder cocaine.

Although the two forms of the drugs are chemically identical, they

are punished differently under federal law. For example, offenders

trafficking in five grams of crack cocaine are subject to a

mandatory minimum punishment of five years, whereas offenders

trafficking in the powder form of the drug are not subject to this

punishment until the quantity of drugs involved in the case reaches

500 grams.6

The average prison sentence for crack offenders in FY 2007 was

129 months. For powder cocaine offenders, the average sentence

DRUG TYPE TOTAL WHITE BLACK HISPANIC OTHER

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,457 6,189 24.3 7,505 29.5 10,874 42.7 889 3.5

Powder Cocaine 6,273 993 15.8 1,710 27.3 3,488 55.6 82 1.3

Crack Cocaine 5,472 479 8.8 4,528 82.7 433 7.9 32 0.6

Heroin 1,379 154 11.2 350 25.4 864 62.7 11 0.8

Marijuana 6,291 1,468 23.3 624 9.9 3,947 62.7 252 4.0

Methamphetamine 5,102 2,625 51.5 130 2.5 2,044 40.1 303 5.9

Other 940 470 50.0 163 17.3 98 10.4 209 22.2
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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2007

was 86 months. Mandatory minimum punishments enacted by

Congress play 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 2007, 81.6

percent of crack cocaine offenders were convicted of an offense

that provided for the imposition of a mandatory minimum penalty,

while 79.0 percent of powder cocaine offenders were.7

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

factor in determining the guideline range. In fiscal year 2007,

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.8 While 60.8 percent of powder cocaine

86

129

68.7

40.4

100.9

56.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

Sentence (Months)

Median=63

Median=120

Powder Cocaine

(N=6,089)

Crack Cocaine

(N=5,384)

Heroin

(N=1,326)

Marijuana

(N=5,876)

Methamphetamine

(N=5,017)

Other

(N=808)

Median=51

Median=24

Median=84

Median=45
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United States Sentencing Commission

offenders were assigned to CHC I (the lowest category), only 21.0

percent of crack cocaine offenders were. Powder cocaine

offenders were assigned to the most serious criminal history

category (CHC VI) in 7.5 percent of powder cocaine cases,

whereas crack cocaine offenders were assigned to that category

in 27.5 of all crack cocaine cases. In contrast, in heroin cases

59.6 percent of offenders were assigned to CHC I and 12.8

percent assigned to CHC VI. In methamphetamine cases, 49.7

percent of offenders were assigned to CHC I and 9.0 percent to

CHC VI. Offenders convicted of marijuana offenses had the least

serious criminal history, with 66.9 percent assigned to CHC I and

4.6 percent to CHC VI.9

Criminal history can also affect eligibility for relief from a

mandatory minimum punishment. Only offenders assigned to

Criminal History Category I (offenders with a criminal history score

of zero or one) are eligible to be sentenced without regard to any

otherwise applicable mandatory minimum punishment.10 As

discussed above, in fiscal year 2007, almost 61 percent of powder

cocaine offenders met this requirement while just 21 percent of

crack cocaine offenders did.

Immigration

Immigration offenses11 are the second largest category of federal

crimes, representing 24 percent of the federal criminal caseload

for fiscal year 2007. The offenders who committed this type of

crime were very different from most other offenders. For example,

while citizens committed the majority of federal crimes (62.6%),

most immigration offenses were committed by non-citizens. In

fiscal year 2007, 88 percent of immigration offenders were

non-citizens.12 Most immigration offenders were Hispanic (88%),

whereas Hispanics accounted for only 28 percent of

non-immigration crimes. Almost 80 percent of immigration

offenders had less than a high school education, compared with

just under 40 percent of offenders convicted of other crimes. And

while men committed most (84%) federal crimes not involving an

immigration offense, men committed an even higher portion of

immigration crimes (92% of those cases).

Immigration offenses are the

second largest category of

federal crimes, representing

24 percent of the federal

criminal caseload for fiscal

year 2007.
9

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2007

Firearms and other weapons

Firearm crimes13 comprised 11.6 percent of the total federal

criminal convictions for fiscal year 2007. Of the 8,359 firearms

cases reported to the Commission, slightly less than 20 percent

(1,666) involved the possession or use of a firearm in connection

with a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.14 Almost 48

percent of the cases (4,005) involved a convicted felon found to be

illegally in possession of a firearm.15 Of all the cases sentenced in

fiscal year 2007, a firearm or other dangerous weapon (e.g., knife)

was involved in the offense in some way 9.3 percent of the time

(6,226).

In drug cases, however, a weapon was involved, on average, 17.4

percent of the time. Weapons were present most often in crack

cocaine cases (29.8%) and were least common in marijuana

cases (8.0%).

Fraud

Crimes involving fraud, deceit, identity theft, insider trading, and

other forms of deception accounted for the fourth largest portion

(10.7%) of federal criminal cases in fiscal year 2007. The losses

in these cases ranged from less than $100 to more than $400

million. More than half of the cases involved a loss of less than

$70,000, but 7.8 percent of these cases involved a loss of more

than $1.5 million. Identity theft crimes accounted for only a small

number (577) of these cases in fiscal year 2007, but have

increased significantly from the 140 such crimes reported in fiscal

year 2002.

Organizational cases

Organizations such as corporations and partnerships can be

prosecuted for violating federal criminal law, and 197

organizations were convicted of at least one federal criminal

offense in fiscal year 2007. This number is a nine percent

decrease from the 217 cases reported in fiscal year 2006,

Crimes involving fraud,

deceit, identity theft,

insider trading, and other

forms of deception

accounted for the fourth

largest portion (10.7%) of

federal criminal cases in

fiscal year 2007.

Less than 20 percent of all

firearms cases involved the

possession or use of a

firearm in connection with

a crime of violence or drug

trafficking crime.
10

United States Sentencing Commission

although higher than the number of cases reported in fiscal year

2005 (187) and fiscal year 2004 (130). Even so, the number of

organizational defendants sentenced remains lower than in earlier

years. For example, in fiscal year 2002, 252 organizational

defendants were sentenced.

Approximately 84 percent of the offenders sentenced in fiscal year

2007 pled guilty to one or more charges. The most common

crimes involved in these cases were fraud and environmental

crimes. Approximately half of the offenders (134) were sentenced

to pay a fine to the government. Of these, 31 organizations were

sentenced to pay restitution to the victims of their crime and a fine,

and another 31 organizations were sentenced to pay restitution

only. In another 31 cases, no fine or restitution was imposed,

although other sanctions were imposed in some of these cases.

Of the 197 offenders, 147 received some term of probation and 47

were ordered to make improvements in compliance or ethics

procedures.

For More Information

More information on these cases can

be found in the Commission’s 2007

Annual Report, 2007 Sourcebook of

Federal Sentencing Statistics, and

Guideline Application Frequencies for

Fiscal Year 2007. 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.

[T]he number of

organizational defendants

sentenced remains lower

than in earlier years.
11

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2007

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

government. Established by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, its principal purposes are (1) to

establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines regarding the

appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes; (2) to advise

and assist Congress, the federal judiciary, 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 on cases in which the defendant has been convicted of a

felony or Class A misdemeanor.

3. These four crime types have been the most common for the past seven fiscal years.

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

by the Commission was an offense under title 21 of the United States Code.

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

6. See 21 U.S.C. § 841.

7. 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 (e) 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.

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

USSG, Chapter Four. The CHC along with the final offense level determine the sentencing range

under the guidelines.

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

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

10. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).

11. 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 certificate,

fraudulently acquiring passports, alien smuggling, the presence of an unlawful alien in the United

States, or fraudulently acquiring entry documents.

12. Most federal crimes committed by non-citizens are immigration crimes. Non-citizens account for

only 20% of federal crimes other than immigration crimes.

13. Firearm 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. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

15. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

Endnotes