Overview of Federal Criminal Cases 

Fiscal Year 2009 

 

 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

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

December 2010
Glenn R. Schmitt

Director

Office of Research and Data

The United States Sentencing Commission1 received information

on 81,549 new federal criminal cases in which the offender was

sentenced in fiscal year 2009.2 Among these cases, 81,372

involved an individual defendant and 177 involved a corporation or

other “organizational” defendant. This publication provides a brief

overview of those cases.

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

2009, the increase was 6.4 percent over the

number of such cases in fiscal year 2008. Cases

involving immigration, drugs, firearms, or fraud

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 eight fiscal years. In fiscal year 2009, these

cases accounted for more than 80 percent of all

cases reported to the Commission.

Immigration offenses4 continued to be the fastest

growing segment of cases in the federal system. In

fiscal year 2009, there were 25,927 immigration

cases reported to the Commission, an increase of

nearly 4,500 cases from the prior fiscal year. In the

last ten fiscal years, the number of cases of this

type has increased by 168 percent, while the total

federal caseload has grown by less than 50 percent

(46.9%). As a result, the portion of the annual

caseload attributable to immigration cases has

increased from 17.5 percent in fiscal year 1999 to

Overview of Federal

Criminal Cases

Fiscal Year 2009

Drugs

30.3%

Robbery

1.3%

Firearms

10.2%

Immigration

Fraud 32.2%

9.5%

Non-FraudWhite Collar

3.7%

Larceny

2.0%

Other

10.9%

Other

5.1%

Methamphetamine

16.7%

Marijuana

25.1%

Heroin

6.6%

Crack Cocaine

22.1%

Powder Cocaine

24.5%

For definitions of these categories, see Appendix A of the

2009 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.
U.S. Citizen

55.3%

Non-U.S. Citizen

44.7%

2

United States Sentencing Commission

32.2 percent in fiscal year 2009. Immigration cases are now the

most common serious federal crime.

The number of drug offenses5 has remained relatively constant for

the last five years, although the portion of the criminal caseload

attributable to those cases decreased to 30.3 percent in fiscal

year 2009 compared with 34.7 percent in fiscal year 2004.

Firearms offenses6 were 10.2 percent of the caseload in fiscal

year 2009, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points over the five-year

period. The proportion of fraud offenses over that period also was

relatively stable at 9.5 percent in fiscal year 2009, as compared

with 10.6 percent in fiscal year 2004.

Offender Characteristics

In fiscal year 2009, 55.3 percent of all offenders were United

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

has risen steadily over the last ten years, up 8.9 percentage

points from fiscal year 2004 and up 10.8 percentage points from

fiscal year 1999. Most non-citizens who were convicted of a

federal crime committed an immigration offense (68.2%). Drug

trafficking was the next most common type of offense committed

by non-citizens (19.5%).

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 2009, 87.1 percent of all

offenders were men, compared with 86.3 percent in fiscal year

2004 and 84.6 percent in fiscal year 1999. Among female

offenders, the most common crime was drug trafficking (28.5% of

all women offenders). Embezzlement was the only crime where

female offenders outnumber male offenders (56.0% to 44.0%).

There are more offenders of Hispanic ethnicity than any other

ethnicity. In fiscal year 2009, 45.4 percent of all offenders were

Hispanic, while 28.5 percent of offenders were White and 22.1

percent were Black. However, the racial composition of offenders

varied widely across offense types and most Hispanic offenders

(86.0%) were sentenced for one of two type of offenses — drug

Male

87.1%

Female

12.9%

Hispanic

45.4%

White

28.5%

Black

22.1%

Other

3.9%
Prison

87.0%

Probation Only

7.3%

Probation/Confinement

3.1%

Prison/Split

2.6%

3

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2009

More than 96 percent of

offenders pled guilty during

fiscal year 2009.

The average age of

offenders has remained

relatively unchanged for

more than 15 years.

trafficking or immigration crimes. Even among drug offenders,

racial 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

2009 (50.8%) had not completed high school and only 5.4 percent

of offenders had completed college. The average age of offenders

in fiscal year 2009 was 35 years; this average has remained

relatively unchanged for more than 15 years.

Case Disposition

The vast majority of convicted defendants plead guilty. In fiscal

year 2009, more than 96 percent of all offenders did so, a rate that

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

guilty, 41.6 percent received a sentence below the applicable

sentencing guideline range, either at the request of the

government or at their own request. In these below-range cases,

a sentence below the applicable guideline range was requested by

the government 62.9 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.

In the 3.7 percent of cases in which offenders did not plead guilty,

32.5 percent received a sentence below the guideline range. In

those below-range cases, the government requested the lower

sentence less than six percent of the time.
4

United States Sentencing Commission

Most federal offenders convicted of a felony or Class A

misdemeanor receive a sentence of incarceration. In fiscal year

2009, only 7.3 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 13.1 percent in 1997.

Another 3.1 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.

The length of confinement imposed on offenders receiving a

sentence other than probation varies greatly depending on the

seriousness of the offense and the criminal history of the offender.

In fiscal year 2009, 25.8 percent of offenders received a sentence

of more than five years and 9.9 percent received a sentence of

more than ten years. Three hundred two offenders were

sentenced to life imprisonment and four offenders were sentenced

to death.

Monetary fines were imposed as punishment in 10.2 percent of all

cases in which an individual was sentenced in fiscal 2009, either

as the sole punishment or combined with some other sanction.

Fines were most commonly imposed in antitrust cases (95.3%),

environmental cases (67.9%), and gambling/lottery cases (56.5%).

When the offender was an organization, courts imposed a fine in

three out of every four cases (74.0%).

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

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

Restitution was most commonly ordered in cases involving

embezzlement (83.8%), arson (83.4%), robbery (81.3%), auto theft

(74.0%), and burglary (63.9%). Restitution was ordered in 29.4

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 2009, 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.

Most federal offenders

receive a prison sentence.
5

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2009

The Most Common Crimes

Immigration

Immigration offenses were the most common serious federal

crimes, representing 32.2 percent of the federal criminal case load

for fiscal year 2009. More than three-quarters of these offenses

involved either the unlawful reentry into the United States or

remaining in the United States without authority. Another 14.5

percent involved alien smuggling activities.

The offenders who commit immigration offenses are very different

from offenders committing other crimes. For example, although

citizens committed the majority of federal crimes (55.3%), most

immigration offenses were committed by non-citizens. In fiscal

year 2009, 92.1 percent of immigration offenders were

non-citizens.7 Hispanics accounted for only 27.5 percent of

non-immigration crimes, but 86.3 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. 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 (85.4%) federal crimes not

involving an immigration offense, men committed an even higher

proportion of immigration crimes (93.4%).

Drugs

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

federal crime during the 20 years for which the Commission has

released sentencing data. In fiscal year 2009, 25,206 offenders

were convicted of a drug crime, the majority involving the

manufacture, sale, or transportation of a drug.8 Of these, 760

offenders were convicted of an offense involving simple

possession of a drug.

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

form, were the most common drug crimes, accounting for 47.0

percent of all such crimes. These cases were almost evenly split

between offenses involving crack cocaine and offenses involving

powder cocaine. Marijuana cases were the next most common,

representing 24.8 percent of all drug crimes. In fact, marijuana

Most immigration offenses

involve either unlawful

entry into the United States

or remaining in the United

States without authority.

The most common drug

crimes involved cocaine,

with powder and crack

forms accounting for nearly

the same prevalence.
6

United States Sentencing Commission

cases were more prevalent than either crack cocaine or powder

cocaine cases. Drug offenses involving methamphetamine

represented 16.6 percent of all drug crimes. Heroin cases were

the least common of the major drug offenses, accounting for 6.5

percent of all drug crimes.

Most drug offenders were citizens, but the percentage of drug

offenders who are citizens varied widely depending on the type of

drug involved in the offense. For example, 97.1 percent of crack

cocaine offenders were citizens, while only 61.8 percent of heroin

offenders were citizens. Non-citizens were most often convicted of

an offense involving marijuana. In fiscal year 2009, 38.4 percent

of all non-citizen drug offenders committed an offense involving

marijuana.

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

WHITE BLACK HISPANIC OTHER

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 24,852 6,492 26.1 7,611 30.6 9,877 39.7 872 3.5

Powder Cocaine 6,020 1,031 17.1 1,684 28.0 3,202 53.2 103 1.7

Crack Cocaine 5,669 558 9.8 4,476 79.0 584 10.3 51 0.9

Heroin 1,619 281 17.4 450 27.8 875 54.0 13 0.8

Marijuana 6,151 1,784 29.0 579 9.4 3,520 57.2 268 4.4

Methamphetamine 4,118 2,158 52.4 118 2.9 1,577 38.3 265 6.4

Other 1,275 680 53.3 304 23.8 119 9.3 172 13.5

DRUG TYPE TOTAL

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

Number Percent Number Percent

TOTAL 24,901 17,994 72.3 6,907 27.7

Powder Cocaine 6,029 3,912 64.9 2,117 35.1

Crack Cocaine 5,683 5,516 97.1 167 2.9

Heroin 1,624 1,003 61.8 621 38.2

Marijuana 6,160 3,508 56.9 2,652 43.1

Methamphetamine 4,125 2,946 71.4 1,179 28.6

Other 1,280 1,109 86.6 171 13.4
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Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2009

The race of drug offenders varied even more widely. Almost 40

percent (39.7%) of all drug offenders convicted in federal court

were Hispanic, with Black offenders accounting for 30.6 percent of

all drug offenders and White offenders representing 26.1 percent

of all drug offenders. Yet, in cases involving methamphetamine,

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

79.0 percent of those convicted were Black. These differences

result from several factors, including where the drug was

produced, who 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 drug crimes slightly less 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 28.7 percent of crack cocaine cases to 6.8

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 2009, the average punishment for

drug crimes ranged from a high of 114.8 months of imprisonment

for crack cocaine offenders (with a median sentence of 96 months)

to 36.2 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 2009, judges in 19.7 percent of all drug cases 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 38.8

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

warranted in only 5.3 percent of crack cocaine cases. In another

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

Almost 20 percent of drug

offenders received a

sentence in a lower

guideline range due to a

mitigating role in the

offense.
8

United States Sentencing Commission

The average prison

sentence for crack

offenders was nearly the

same in both fiscal years

2008 and 2009.

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

2009 was 114.8 months, almost identical to the sentence for those

offenders in fiscal year 2008. This is a reduction of nearly 15

months from the average sentence for crack offenders during

fiscal year 2007, largely due to an amendment to the sentencing

guidelines that lowered the punishment for crack cocaine

offenses.9 For powder cocaine offenders, the average sentence

was 86.7 months, a decrease of about four months from the

average in fiscal year 2008.

86.7

114.8

73.1

36.2

96.5

59.2

Sentence (Months)

Powder Cocaine Crack Cocaine Heroin Marijuana Methamphetamine Other 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

(N=5,728) (N=5,558) (N=1,533) (N=5,711) (N=4,017) (N=1,080)

Median=63

Median=96

Median=24

Median=72

Median=41

Median=57

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 2009, crack cocaine offenders and

powder cocaine offenders were convicted of an offense that
9

Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2009

The "safety valve" provision

was available to just one in

five crack cocaine offenders

in fiscal year 2009.

provided for the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence at

virtually the same rate, just over 80 percent of crack cocaine

offenders and just over 76 percent of powder cocaine offenders.10

However, 34 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.11 In

contrast, just over ten 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 2009, 59.3 percent of powder cocaine

offenders were assigned to CHC I while only 22.0 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 2009,

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.12 Powder cocaine offenders were assigned

to the most serious criminal history category (CHC VI) in 8.2

percent of powder cocaine cases, whereas crack cocaine

offenders were assigned to that category in 27.9 percent of all

crack cocaine cases. In contrast, 55.6 percent of heroin offenders

were assigned to CHC I and 12.3 percent assigned to CHC VI. In

methamphetamine cases, 49.5 percent of offenders were assigned

to CHC I and 11.6 percent to CHC VI. Offenders convicted of

marijuana offenses generally had the least serious criminal

histories, with 69.6 percent assigned to CHC I and 3.4 percent to

CHC VI.13
10

United States Sentencing Commission

Firearms and other weapons

Firearms crimes were 10.2 percent of the total federal criminal

convictions for fiscal year 2009. Of the 8,243 firearms cases

reported to the Commission, 20.4 percent (1,682) involved the

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

violence or drug trafficking crime.14 Almost half of these cases

(4,087) involved a convicted felon who illegally possessed a

firearm.15

Of all cases reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2009, a

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

offense in some way 8.4 percent of the time (6,125 cases).

However, a weapon was involved twice as often in drug cases

(16.8%). Weapons were present most often in crack cocaine

cases (28.7%) and least often in marijuana cases (6.8%).

Fraud

Crimes involving fraud, deceit, theft, embezzlement, insider

trading, and other forms of deception accounted for the fourth

largest portion (9.5%) of federal criminal cases in fiscal year 2009.

The losses in these cases ranged from less than $100 to more

than $400 million. More than half of these cases involved a loss of

less than $70,000. Only eight percent of fraud cases involved a

loss of more than $1.5 million. Identity theft crimes16 accounted for

a relatively small number (901) of these cases in fiscal year 2009,

but have increased significantly from the 161 such crimes reported

in fiscal year 2004.

Organizational Cases

Organizations such as corporations and partnerships can be

prosecuted for violating federal criminal law, and 177 organizations

were sentenced for at least one federal criminal offense in fiscal

year 2009. This number is an 11-percent decrease from the 199

cases reported in fiscal year 2008. 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.

Nearly half of firearms

cases involved a convicted

felon in illegal possession of

a firearm.

Identity theft crimes have

increased significantly in

the past decade.
Overview of Federal Criminal Cases – Fiscal Year 2009

11

For More Information

More information on these cases can

be found in the Commission’s 2009

Annual Report, 2009 Sourcebook of

Federal Sentencing Statistics, and

Guideline Application Frequencies for

Fiscal Year 2009. 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.

Ninety-six percent of the organizational offenders sentenced in

fiscal year 2009 pled guilty to one or more charges. The most

common crimes for which organizational defendants were

convicted were fraud and environmental crimes. Organizational

offenders were sentenced to pay a fine to the government in 131

cases. In 25 cases, the offender was sentenced to pay restitution

to the victim of the crime as well as to pay a fine. In 27 cases, the

organization was sentenced to pay restitution only. No fine or

restitution was imposed in 19 cases, although other sanctions were

imposed in some of these cases. Additionally, of the 177

organizational offenders, 131 received some term of probation,

and nine were ordered to make improvements in compliance or

ethics procedures.

Resentencings and Other Modifications of Sentence

In fiscal year 2009, the Commission received documentation on

7,420 resentencings or other modifications of sentence. More than

half of these were modifications of the term of imprisonment due to

retroactive application of an amendment to the sentencing

guidelines, principally the 2007 amendment to the sentencing

guidelines relating to crack cocaine offenses.17 The next most

common type of resentencing was a reduction in sentence for

substantial assistance to the government after sentencing.18

Slightly more than one-quarter of all resentencings or modifications

of sentence resulted from substantial assistance to the government

by an offender. The third most common type of resentencing

occurred after remand of a case that had been appealed to a

circuit court.
12

United States Sentencing Commission

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 FY 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 (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. 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).

6. Firearms offense 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.

7. Non-citizens primarily are convicted of immigration crimes. Non-citizens were the offenders in only 21.2% of federal

crimes other than immigration crimes in fiscal year 2009.

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

9. See Amendments 706 and 711 to the sentencing guidelines. These amendments became effective on November 1,

2007.

10. 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.

11. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).

12. 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.

13. For more information on sentencing issues involving cocaine drug cases, see UNITED STATES SENTENCING

COMMISSION, REPORT TO CONGRESS: FEDERAL COCAINE SENTENCING POLICY (2007).

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. 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.

17. See Amendment 713 to the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, approved December 11, 2007,

and effective on March 3, 2008. See also 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).

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

Endnotes