Overview of Federal Criminal Cases 

Fiscal Year 2008 

 

 UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION
United States Sentencing Commission

One Columbus Circle, N.E.

Washington, DC 20002

www.ussc.gov

William K. Sessions III

Chair

Ruben Castillo

Vice Chair

William B. Carr, Jr.

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

December 2009
Glenn R. Schmitt

Director

Office of Research and Data

The United States Sentencing Commission1 received information

on 76,478 new federal criminal cases in which the offender was

sentenced in fiscal year 2008.2 Among these cases, 76,279

involved an individual defendant and 199 involved a corporation or

other “organizational” defendant. This publication provides a brief

overview of those cases involving individual or organizational

offenders.

The Case Load at a Glance

The vast majority of the cases reported to the

Commission involve an individual defendant. The

number of cases of this type has increased every

year except one over the last decade.3 In fiscal

year 2008, the increase was 4.7 percent from the

number of such cases in fiscal year 2007. Cases

involving drugs, immigration, firearms, or fraud

continue to be the most common federal crimes4

and make up the vast majority of the federal

criminal cases reported to the Commission. In

fiscal year 2008, these four case types accounted

for 81.5 percent of those cases.

Immigration cases continue to be the fastest

growing segment of cases in the federal system. In

fiscal year 2008, there were 21,429 immigration

cases reported to the Commission, an increase of

more than 3,800 cases from the prior fiscal year. In

the last ten fiscal years, this type of case has grown

more than 165 percent, while the total federal

caseload has grown by 50 percent. As a result, the

portion of the annual caseload attributable to

immigration cases increased from 15.9 percent in

fiscal year 1998 to 28.2 percent in fiscal year 2008.

Even with the increase in immigration cases, drug

cases remained the most common type of case in

the federal system, with 25,176 cases in fiscal year

2008.

Although the number of drug cases has remained

relatively constant for the last five years, the portion

Overview of Federal

Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 2008

Drugs

32.6%

Robbery

1.4%

Firearms

10.9%

Immigration Fraud 28.2% 9.8%

Non-Fraud White Collar

4.2%

Larceny

2.2%

Other

10.7%

Other

4.4%

Methamphetamine

17.2%

Marijuana

25.5%

Heroin

5.9%

Crack Cocaine

23.7%

Powder Cocaine

23.4%

For definitions of these categories, see Appendix A of the 2008

Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.
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United States Sentencing Commission

of the criminal caseload attributable to those cases decreased by

4.8 percentage points, to 32.6 percent in fiscal year 2008

compared with 37.4 percent in fiscal year 2003. Firearm cases

made up 10.9 percent of the caseload in fiscal year 2008, an

increase of 1.1 percentage points over the five-year period. The

proportion of fraud cases in the federal system also was stable, at

9.8 percent in fiscal year 2008 as compared with 10.8 percent in

fiscal year 2003.

Offender Characteristics

Most persons convicted of federal crimes are United States

citizens. In fiscal year 2008, 59.5 percent of all offenders were

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

risen steadily over the last ten years, up 5.3 percentage points

from fiscal year 2003 and up 8.6 percentage points from fiscal year

1998. Most non-citizens convicted of crimes in federal court were

convicted of an immigration offense (63.5%). The next most

common type of offense committed by non-citizens was drug

trafficking (23.8%).

The vast majority of criminal offenders are men, and their portion

of the total offender population has remained constant for more

than a decade. In fiscal year 2008, 87.2 percent of all offenders

were men, compared to 86.9 percent in fiscal year 2003 and 84.9

percent in fiscal year 1998. The most common crime among

female offenders was drug crime (31.9% of all women offenders).

Embezzlement was the only crime where female offenders

outnumber male offenders.

Overall, there were more Hispanic offenders in fiscal year 2008

than offenders of any other racial or ethnic background. Hispanic

offenders represented 42.2 percent of all offenders, while 29.8

percent of offenders were White and 24.0 percent were Black.

The racial composition of offenders varied widely across offense

type, however, with the majority (84.6%) of all Hispanic offenders

sentenced for either drug or immigration crimes. As discussed in

greater detail below, among drug offenders, the racial background

varied depending on the type of drug involved in the crime.

Many offenders do not have a basic education. Almost half of the

federal offenders sentenced in fiscal year 2008 (49.4%) had not

completed high school. Only 5.4 percent of offenders had

completed college.

The average age of federal offenders in fiscal year 2008 was 35

years. This average has remained relatively unchanged for more

than 15 years.

U.S. Citizen

59.5%

Non-U.S. Citizen

40.5%

White

29.8%

Hispanic

42.2%

Black

24.0%

Other

4.0%

Male

87.2%

Female

12.8%
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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2008

Probation Only

7.4% Prison Only

86.4%

Prison/Split

2.6%

Probation/Confinement

3.6%

Case Disposition

The vast majority of convicted defendants plead guilty. In fiscal

year 2008, more than 96 percent of all offenders did so, a rate that

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

guilty, 39.4 percent received a sentence below the applicable

sentencing guideline range, either at the request of the

government or at their own request. In these cases, a sentence

below the applicable guideline range was requested by the

government 67.2 percent of the time, 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.

When offenders did not plead guilty, 26.8 percent received a

sentence below the guideline range. In those cases, the

government requested a below-range sentence in less than seven

percent of the cases.

Most federal offenders convicted of a felony or Class A

misdemeanor receive a sentence of incarceration. In fiscal year

2008, only 7.4 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 3.6 percent were sentenced to periods of both probation

and some type of confinement, and 2.6 percent were sentenced to

a combination of imprisonment and community confinement, such

as in a half-way house or through home confinement.

Monetary fines were imposed as punishment in 10.6 percent of all

cases in which an individual was sentenced in fiscal 2008, either

as the sole punishment or in combination with some other

sanction. Fines were most commonly imposed in antitrust cases

Fewer than eight percent of

offenders received a

sentence of probation in

fiscal year 2008.

The rate of offenders who

plead guilty generally has

remained steady for the

past ten years.
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United States Sentencing Commission

(79.2%), environmental cases (65.2%), drug possession cases

(57.2%), and food and drug cases (51.4%). Fines were imposed

on 68.1 percent of organizational offenders.

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

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

Restitution was most commonly ordered in cases involving

embezzlement (81.6%), burglary (75.5%), robbery (75.0%), and

arson (63.3%). Restitution was ordered in 32.8 percent of the

organizational offender cases sentenced in fiscal year 2008.

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 2008, more

than 95 percent of offenders sentenced to incarceration also were

sentenced to serve a period of supervised release. The average

length of supervised release imposed was 41 months.

The Most Common Crimes

Drugs

Offenses involving illegal drugs accounted for 32.6 percent of the

federal criminal caseload, greater than any other type of crime.

Drug crime5 has been the most common offense prosecuted in the

federal courts throughout the entire period during which the

Commission has released sentencing data (since fiscal year

1988). In fiscal year 2008, 25,176 offenders were convicted of a

drug crime, the majority involving the manufacture, sale, or

transportation of the drug.6 Offenses involving cocaine, in either

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

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

Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,316 18,154 71.7 7,162 28.3

Powder Cocaine 5,883 3,750 63.7 2,133 36.3

Crack Cocaine 6,168 5,955 96.5 213 3.5

Heroin 1,474 873 59.2 601 40.8

Marijuana 6,329 3,553 56.1 2,776 43.9

Methamphetamine 4,344 3,105 71.5 1,239 28.5

Other 1,118 918 82.1 200 17.9
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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2008

powder form or base (“crack”) form, were the most common drug

crimes, accounting for 47.1 percent of all such crime. These cases

were almost evenly split between offenses involving crack cocaine

and offenses involving powder cocaine. Marijuana cases were the

next most common, representing 25.5 percent of all drug cases.

These cases were more prevalent than either crack cocaine or

powder cocaine cases if the cocaine cases are viewed separately.

Cases involving methamphetamine represented 17.2 percent of all

drug cases. Heroin cases were the least common of the major

types of drug crime, accounting for 5.9 percent of all drug cases.

Most drug offenders are citizens, but the percentage of drug

offenders who are citizens varies widely depending on the type of

drug involved in the offense. For example, in fiscal year 2008

96.5 percent of crack cocaine offenders were citizens while only

59.2 percent of heroin offenders were citizens. Non-citizens were

most often convicted of an offense involving marijuana. In fiscal

year 2008, 43.9 percent of all non-citizen drug offenders

committed an offense involving marijuana.

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 31.4 percent of all

drug offenders and White offenders accounting for 25.3 percent of

those offenders. Yet, in cases involving methamphetamine, 52.4

percent of the offenders were White. In crack cocaine cases, 79.8

percent of those convicted were Black. These differences result

from several factors, including where the drug was produced, who

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

WHITE BLACK HISPANIC OTHER

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 25,273 6,395 25.3 7,929 31.4 10,163 40.2 786 3.1

Powder Cocaine 5,871 973 16.6 1,771 30.2 3,068 52.3 59 1.0

Crack Cocaine 6,154 637 10.4 4,911 79.8 542 8.8 64 1.0

Heroin 1,472 236 16.0 363 24.7 851 57.8 22 1.5

Marijuana 6,329 1,731 27.4 483 7.6 3,889 61.4 226 3.6

Methamphetamine 4,332 2,271 52.4 126 2.9 1,704 39.3 231 5.3

Other 1,115 547 49.1 275 24.7 109 9.8 184 16.5
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United States Sentencing Commission

imported it into the United States, and the location of the users of

the type of drug (i.e., whether in an urban or rural area).

Weapons were involved in the drug crimes prosecuted in federal

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

race of the offenders, the rate of weapon involvement varied

depending on the type of drug involved, ranging from 27.4 percent

of crack cocaine cases to 7.3 percent of marijuana cases.

The average prison sentence for drug offenders can be affected 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 of the

average sentence length in the different types of drug cases

should be made cautiously. In fiscal year 2008, the average

punishment for drug crimes ranged from a high of 114.5 months

for crack cocaine offenders (with a median sentence of 97 months)

to 36.8 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

2008, in 20.7 percent of all drug cases the court determined that

the 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 41.8

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

warranted in only 5.2 percent of crack cocaine cases. In another

5.7 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.

The average prison sentence for crack offenders in fiscal year

2008 was 114.5 months, a reduction of 14.5 months from the prior

fiscal year, due largely to an amendment to the sentencing

guidelines that lowered the punishment for crack cocaine

offenses.7 For powder cocaine offenders, the average sentence

was 91 months, an increase of five months from the average in

fiscal year 2007.

Mandatory minimum sentences enacted by Congress play a large

part in determining the sentence for drug offenders, either outright

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

guidelines. In fiscal year 2008, crack cocaine offenders and

powder cocaine offenders were convicted of an offense that

provided for the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence at

virtually the same rate, just over 79 percent.8 However, almost 60

Crack and powder cocaine

offenders received

mandatory minimum

sentences at virtually the

same rate.

Average prison sentences in

fiscal year 2008 for crack

cocaine offenses were

114.5 months.
7

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2008

percent of powder cocaine offenders obtained relief from a

mandatory minimum sentence through the “safety valve” exception

to such sentences, which authorizes courts to sentence an

offender without regard to any otherwise applicable mandatory

minimum punishment when certain conditions are met.9 In

contrast, a little more than 22 percent of crack cocaine offenders

qualified for this relief.

The differing criminal histories of these two categories of offenders

played a large role in 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 2008, 59.9 percent of powder cocaine

offenders were assigned to CHC I while only 22.6 percent of crack

cocaine offenders were assigned to that category.10

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

key factor in determining the guideline range. In fiscal year 2008,

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.11 Powder cocaine offenders were assigned to

the most serious criminal history category (CHC VI) in 8.5 percent
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United States Sentencing Commission

of powder cocaine cases, whereas crack cocaine offenders were

assigned to that category in 25.4 percent of all crack cocaine

cases. In contrast, in heroin cases, 59.3 percent of offenders were

assigned to CHC I and 12.4 percent assigned to CHC VI. In

methamphetamine cases, 50.3 percent of offenders were assigned

to CHC I and 9.5 percent to CHC VI. Offenders convicted of

marijuana offenses generally had the least serious criminal

histories, with 69.7 percent assigned to CHC I and 3.5 percent to

CHC VI.12

Immigration

Immigration offenses13 are the second largest category of federal

crimes, accounting for 28.2 percent of the federal criminal

caseload for fiscal year 2008. More than 70 percent of these

offenses involved either the unlawful reentry into the United States

or remaining in the United States without authority. Another 18.4

percent involved alien smuggling activities.

The offenders who commit immigration offenses are very different

from most other offenders. For example, while citizens committed

the majority of federal crimes (59.5%) in fiscal year 2008,

non-citizens committed most immigration offenses. In fiscal year

2008, 90.1 percent of immigration offenders were non-citizens.14

Hispanics accounted for only 27.5 percent of non-immigration

crimes, but 84.2 percent of immigration offenders were Hispanic.

Immigration offenders also had significantly less education than

other offenders, a fact that is common among non-citizen

offenders generally. Eighty percent of immigration offenders had

less than a high school education, compared with less than 40

percent of offenders convicted of other crimes. And while men

committed most (85.4%) federal crimes not involving an

immigration offense, men committed an even higher proportion of

immigration crimes (92.7% of those cases).

Firearms and other weapons

Firearm crimes15 made up 10.9 percent of the total federal criminal

convictions for fiscal year 2008. Of the 8,250 firearms cases

reported to the Commission, 19 percent (1,593) involved the

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

violence or drug trafficking crime.16 Almost 48 percent of the cases

(3,941) involved a convicted felon who illegally possessed a

firearm.17

Of all cases reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2008, a

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

offense in some way 9.1 percent of the time (6,413). In contrast,

however, in drug cases a weapon was involved, on average, 17.2

Most immigration offenses

involve either unlawful

entry into the United States

or remaining in the United

States without authority.

Nearly half of firearms

cases (3,941) in fiscal year

2008 involved a convicted

felon in illegal possession of

a firearm.
9

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2008

The number of identity

theft cases has continued to

rise during the past five

fiscal years.

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

cocaine cases (27.4%) and least often in marijuana cases (7.3%).

Fraud

Crimes involving fraud, deceit, theft, embezzlement, insider

trading, and other forms of deception accounted for the fourth

largest portion (9.8%) of federal criminal cases in fiscal year 2008.

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 7.0 percent of these cases involved a loss

of more than $1.5 million. Identity theft crimes accounted for a

relatively small number (773) of these cases in fiscal year 2008,

but have increased significantly from the 218 such crimes reported

in fiscal year 2003.

Organizational Cases

Organizations such as corporations and partnerships can be

prosecuted for violating federal criminal law, and 199 organizations

were sentenced for at least one federal criminal offense in fiscal

year 2008. This number is a one-percent increase from the 197

cases reported in fiscal year 2007. The number of organizational

defendants convicted continued to remain lower than in earlier

years. For example, 296 organizational defendants were

sentenced in fiscal year 2002, and 255 organizational defendants

were sentenced in fiscal year 1999.

Ninety-one percent of the organizational offenders sentenced in

fiscal year 2008 pled guilty to one or more charges. The most

common crimes for which organizational defendants were

convicted were fraud and environmental crimes. These

defendants were sentenced to pay a fine to the government in 135

cases. In 28 cases, the defendant was sentenced to pay

restitution to the victims of the crime as well as a fine. In 37 cases,

the organization was sentenced to pay restitution only. No fine or

restitution was imposed in 26 cases, although other sanctions

were imposed in some of these cases. Additionally, of the 199

offenders, 130 received some term of probation and 12 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 2008

Annual Report, 2008 Sourcebook of

Federal Sentencing Statistics, and

Guideline Application Frequencies for

Fiscal Year 2008. 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.
10

United States Sentencing Commission

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 from the courts on cases in which the defendant has been

convicted of a felony or Class A misdemeanor.

3. See Louis Reedt and Jessica Widico-Stroop, United States Sentencing Commission, Changing

Face of Federal Criminal Sentencing 1 (2009). In FY 2004, the number of cases reported to the

Commission fell by 0.3 percent.

4. These four crime types have been the most common for the last eight fiscal years.

5. 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 The Controlled Substances Act (title 21) of the United

States Code.

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

7. See Amendments 706 and 711 to the sentencing guidelines. These amendments became

effective on November 1, 2007.

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. Some of the difference in the criminal history categories of powder and crack cocaine offenders

may be attributable to the fact that the criminal records of non-citizen offenders may be incomplete.

Among powder cocaine offenders, 36.3 percent were non-citizens, while only 3.5 percent of crack

cocaine offenders were non-citizens.

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

USSG, Chapter 4. The CHC along with the final offense level determine the sentencing range under

the guidelines.

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

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

13. 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.

14. Non-citizens primarily were convicted of immigration crimes. Non-citizens were the offenders in

only 20 percent of federal crimes other than immigration crimes.

Endnotes
11

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2008

15. Firearm crimes include 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.

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

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

18. 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.

Endnotes