Federal Criminal Case Processing with trends 1982-2000, DOJ BJS, 2000

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Federal Justice Statistics: Reconciled Data

Federal Criminal Case
Processing, 2000
With trends 1982-2000

Federal criminal case processing, 1994-2000
140,000

Suspects investigated
Suspects arrested

120,000

100,000

Defendants charged

80,000

Defendants convicted
60,000

Defendants imprisoned
40,000

20,000

0
1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20531
John Ashcroft
Attorney General

Office of Justice Programs
Deborah J. Daniels
Assistant Attorney General
World Wide Web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Acting Director
World Wide Web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

For information contact:
BJS Clearinghouse
1-800-732-3277

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Federal Criminal Case
Processing, 2000
With trends 1982-2000

Federal Justice Statistics: Reconciled Data

November 2001, NCJ 189737

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

This Bureau of Justice Statistics report was prepared by
the Urban Institute under the supervision of Steven K.
Smith and John Scalia, Jr., of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). This report was prepared under BJS grant
number 98-BJ-CX-K015. Principal staff at the Urban Institute were Laura Winterfield, William J. Sabol, William Adams, Avi Bhati, Barbara Parthasarathy, and Yan Yuan.
Layout and design were by David Williams. Tom Hester
of BJS provided editorial review.
This report is made possible through the cooperation of the
following Federal agencies and their staffs: The United
States Marshals Service (USMS), the Administrative Office
of the United States Courts (AOUSC), the Executive Office
for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP). The staff who provided expert advice
about the source records include: Joe Briggs (USMS);
Steven Schlesinger and Catherine Whitaker (AOUSC);
Siobhan Sperin and Barbara Tone (EOUSA); and Gerald
Gaes and Nancy Miller (BOP).
BJS authorizes any person to reproduce, publish, translate,
or otherwise use all or any part of the material in this publication; citation to source, however, is appreciated.
An electronic version of this report and the data underlying
graphics may be found on the BJS Internet Home Page
(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/). The BJS-sponsored Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center (FJSRC) Internet
Home Page (http://fjsrc.urban.org) provides online access
to the Federal Justice database. Users may download
data from the Federal Justice database for independent
analysis or use the online query system to quickly obtain
customized statistics.
To order additional copies of this report or CD-ROMs containing the Federal Justice database, call the BJS Clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Contents
Highlights, 1
Introduction, 3
Federal criminal case processing,
2000, 5
Tables and figures

Methodology, 17
The Federal justice database
Table construction and interpretation
Offense classifications
Classification level
Estimations
Statistics appearing in Federal Criminal
Case Processing, 2000

Appendix, 25
Tables

Contents

iii

Tables
Federal criminal case processing,
2000, 5
October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000
1.
Arrests for Federal offenses,
by offense
2.

Suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys, by offense

Disposition of suspects in matters
concluded by U.S. attorneys,
by offense

Defendants in cases proceeded
against in U.S. district courts,
by offense

Disposition of defendants in cases
terminated in U.S. district courts,
by offense

Sanctions imposed on offenders
convicted and sentenced in U.S.
district courts, by offense

Criminal appeals filed, by type of
criminal case and offense

Offenders under Federal supervision, by offense

Federal prison admissions and
releases, by offense

Methodology, 17
M.1. Breakout of main category offenses
M.2. Source agencies for data tables in
Federal Criminal Case Processing

A.7. Defendants in cases proceeded
against in U.S. district courts, by
offense, 1994-2000
A.8. Defendants in cases terminating in
U.S. district courts, by offense,
1994-2000
A.9. Defendants in cases terminating in
U.S. district courts: Percent convicted, by offense, 1994-2000
A.10. Offenders convicted and sentenced
in U.S. district courts, by offense,
1994-2000
A.11. Offenders convicted and sentenced
in U.S. district courts: Number sentenced to prison, by offense,
1994-2000
A.12. Criminal appeals filed, by offense,
1994-2000
A.13. Offenders convicted and sentenced
in U.S. district courts: Number sentenced to probation only, by
offense, 1994-2000
A.14. Offenders convicted and sentenced
in U.S. district courts: Mean number of months of imprisonment
imposed, by offense, 1994-2000
A.15. Offenders under Federal supervision, by offense, 1994-2000
A.16. Population at the end of the year in
Federal prisons, by offense,
1994-2000

Appendix, 25
A.1. Arrests for Federal offenses,
1994-2000
A.2. Suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys, by offense,
1994-2000
A.3. Suspects in criminal matters
concluded by U.S. attorneys, by
offense, 1994-2000
A.4. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys: Number
prosecuted before U.S. district court
judge, by offense, 1994-2000
A.5. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. magistrates, by
offense, 1994-2000
A.6. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys: Number
declined prosecution, by offense,
1994-2000

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Figures
Highlights, 1
Figure H.1. Federal criminal case processing, October 1, 1999 September 30, 2000
Figure H.2. Number of offenders under
Federal correctional supervision, September 30, 2000

Federal criminal case processing,
2000, 5
Figure 1.

Number of suspects in criminal matters investigated by
U.S. attorneys, by category
of offense, 1982-2000

Figure 2.

Number of defendants in
criminal cases terminated in
U.S. district court, by category of offense, 1982-2000

Figure 3.

Defendants convicted in U.S.
district court: Percentage
sentenced to prison, by category of offense, 1982-2000

Figure 4.

Number of offenders under
Federal supervision, by type
of supervision, 1987-2000

Figure 5.

U.S. district court commitments and first releases from
Federal prison, by expected
or actual time in prison,
1986-2000

Contents

Highlights
• During 2000 U.S. attorneys initiated investigations involving 123,559 suspects for possible violations of
Federal law. Almost a third (32%) of those investigated were suspected of a drug violation.
• Between 1994 and 2000, investigations initiated by
U.S. attorneys have increased 25% — from 99,251 to
123,559. Investigations for immigration violations increased from 5,526 to 16,495; for drug offenses,
investigations increased from 29,311 to 38,959.
• U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute a smaller proportion of those investigated, as declinations of matters concluded decreased from 36% during 1994 to
26% during 2000.
• During 2000, 115,589 suspects were arrested by
Federal law enforcement agencies for possible violation of Federal law. Almost 30% of all arrests were
for drug offenses, 22% for immigration offenses, 15%
for property offenses, 15% for supervision violations,
4% for violent offenses, and about 4% to secure and
safeguard a material witness.
• Between 1994 and 2000, the number of defendants
charged in criminal cases filed in U.S. district courts
increased 34%, from 62,237 to 83,251. The number
of defendants charged with an immigration offense
increased from 2,453 to 12,036, while the number
charged with a drug offense increased from 20,275
to 29,455.
• During 2000 criminal cases involving 76,952 defendants were concluded in U.S. district courts. Of
these, 89% were convicted. Almost all (95%) of
those convicted pleaded guilty or no contest.
• Drug prosecutions have comprised an increasing
proportion of the Federal criminal caseload — from
21% of defendants in cases terminating in U.S. district court during 1982 to 35% during 2000.

Federal criminal case processing, October 1, 1999 September 30, 2000
Suspects investigated

123,559

Suspects arrested

115,589

Defendants prosecuted

83,251

Offenders convicted

68,156

Offenders sentenced
to prison*

50,451

Criminal appeals filed

9,162
0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Figure H.1.

Number of offenders under Federal correctional supervision,
September 30, 2000
Prison

129,329

Supervised release

63,937

Probation

31,019

Parole

4,544
0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000 120,000 140,000

Figure H.2.
*Prison includes offenders given life and death sentences, and includes
new law offenders given prison-community split sentences (prison and
conditions of alternative community confinement). Also included are
offenders given mixed sentences of prison plus probation, applicable only
to offenders sentenced pursuant to laws applicable prior to the Sentencing
Reform Act of 1984.

• Since implementation of the Sentencing Reform Act
of 1984, the proportion of defendants sentenced to
prison increased from 54% during 1988 to 74% during 2000. The proportion of drug offenders sentenced to prison increased from 79% to 92%.

• During 2000 the U.S. Court of Appeals received
9,162 criminal appeals. Forty-nine percent of these
appeals challenged both the conviction and the sentence imposed.

• Prison sentences imposed increased slightly from
55.1 months during 1988 to 56.8 months during
2000. For drug offenses, prison sentences increased
from 71.3 months to 75.6 months; for weapon offenses, sentences imposed increased from 52.3
months to 92.2 months.

• During 2000, 99,500 offenders were under Federal
community supervision. Supervised release has become the primary form of supervision in the Federal
system: 64% of offenders were on supervised release compared to 31% on probation, and 5% remaining on parole.

• Time expected to be served, on average, increased
from 26.9 months for offenders admitted during 1988
to 44.4 months for offenders admitted during 2000.
For drug offenses, the amount of time an incoming
offender could expect to serve increased from 39.3
months to 61.6 months; for weapon offenses,
expected time served increased from 32.4 months to
69.6 months.

• On September 30, 2000, 129,329 offenders were
serving a prison sentence in Federal prison; 57%
were incarcerated for a drug offense; 10% for a violent offense; 8% for a weapon offense; 8% for a
property offense, 11% for an immigration offense;
and 6% for all other offenses.

Highlights

Introduction
Federal Criminal Case Processing,
2000, third in an annual series, provides statistics that describe defendants processed at different stages of
the Federal criminal justice system for
the 12-month period ending September 30, 2000. Also included are figures describing trends in Federal
criminal case processing during the
1982-2000 period.
The data presented are compiled
from the BJS Federal justice
database. The Federal justice database is comprised of data provided by
the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys,
the Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts provides data describing the Federal court docket —
criminal, civil, and appellate — as well
as pretrial services, probation, parole,
and supervised release.
The Federal justice database may be
obtained electronically from the Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center website or on CD-ROM from the
BJS Clearinghouse. For more detailed information on obtaining the
Federal justice database, see page ii.
Statistics presented in this report include the number of suspects arrested by Federal law enforcement
agencies for violations of Federal law,
the number of suspects investigated
by U.S. attorneys for possible violations of Federal law, the outcome of
U.S. attorney investigations (prosecution or declination), the number of defendants prosecuted in U.S. district
courts, the outcome of criminal cases
(convicted or not convicted), sanctions imposed on defendants convicted (type of sentence imposed and
length of imprisonment), the number
and type of criminal appeals filed, and
the number of offenders under Federal correctional supervision —
prison, probation, parole, and supervised release. A related publication,
the Compendium of Federal Justice
Statistics, provides more detail on
many of the statistics presented in this

report — including statistics describing 40 offense categories and statistics on case processing matters not
covered in this report, such as pretrial
release and demographic characteristics of offenders.
Several case processing statistics
presented in this report have previously been reported by the individual
agencies. However, because these
agencies use different criteria to collect, tabulate, and report on case
processing events, statistics published by each of the agencies may
not be directly comparable. In this report, BJS has attempted to reconcile
differences in data collection and reporting to present comparable statistics across stages of the Federal
criminal justice system. For a description of the reconciliation effort
and the methodology employed, see
Comparing Case Processing Statistics (NCJ 169274) and Reconciling
Federal Criminal Case Processing
Statistics (NCJ 171680).

There are two changes in the universe of data provided by the BOP.
First, the data now include all offenders under the jurisdiction of the BOP.
Jurisdiction includes offenders in BOP
custody, offenders in contract
facilities, and offenders in private facilities. BOP data presented in previous Federal Criminal Case Processing reports did not include offenders in
private facilities. Second, the data
presented do not include any offenders convicted of violations of the District of Columbia criminal code, that is,
those prisoners transferred from the
prison facilities operated by the District of Columbia in Lorton, VA to Federal facilities.

Since many terms and concepts used
in this report have specialized meanings — either because they refer to
specific provisions of Federal law or
they refer to procedures used by
agencies supplying the data — readers are encouraged to reference the
glossary of the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics for definitions of
concepts.
Modifications to Federal Criminal
Case Processing, 2000
A new appendix table showing the annual number of arrests for violations
of Federal criminal law from 19942000 has been included and appears
as the first Appendix table in sequence. Subsequent tables have
been re-numbered accordingly, so
that comparisons with Appendix tables from previous editions of this report should be made with care. Arrest
data in the new Appendix figure is
graphically shown in the figure on the
cover. Figure H.1 in the Highlights
shows arrest data for fiscal year 2000.

Introduction

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Tables
October 1, 1999 – September 30, 2000
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

Arrests for Federal offenses, by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Suspects in criminal matters investigated
by U.S. attorneys, by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Disposition of suspects in matters concluded
by U.S. attorneys, by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Defendants in cases proceeded against
in U.S. district courts, by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Disposition of defendants in cases
terminated in U.S. district courts, by offense . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sanctions imposed on offenders convicted
and sentenced in U.S. district courts,
by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Criminal appeals filed, by type of criminal
case and offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Offenders under Federal supervision,
by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Federal prison admissions and releases,
by offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Figures
1.

4.
5.

Number of suspects in criminal matters
investigated by U.S. attorneys, by category
of offense, 1982-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Number of defendants in criminal cases
terminated in U.S. district court, by category
of offense, 1982-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Defendants convicted in U.S. district court:
Percentage sentenced to prison, by category
of offense, 1982-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Number of offenders under Federal supervision, by type of supervision, 1987-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
U.S. district court commitments and first releases
from Federal prison, by expected or actual time in
prison, 1986-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Table 1. Arrests for Federal offenses, by offense, October 1, 1999 September 30, 2000
Most serious offense

Number
115,589

All offenses

Percenta
100%

Violent offensesc

4,250

3.7

Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc

16,842
13,432
3,410

14.6
11.6
3.0

Drug offenses

32,630

28.2

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

40,471
621
39,850
5,203
25,205
1,170
8,272

35.0
0.5
34.5
4.5
21.8
1.0
7.2

Supervision violations

17,133

14.8

4,203

3.6

Material witness

Unknown or indeterminable offense
a
Percent based on number whose offense
category could be determined.
b
Includes suspects whose offense category
could not be determined. See Methodology for
a listing of detailed offense categories within
each major offense category.

In this table, "Violent offenses" may include
nonnegligent manslaughter; "Fraudulent
property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent
property and includes destruction of property
and trespass-ing; and "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud.

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Table 2. Suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys,
by offense, October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000
Suspects in criminal matters
received by U.S. attorneys
Percentb
Number
123,559
100%

Most serious offense investigateda
All offensesc
Violent offensesd

6,036

4.9

Property offenses
Fraudulentd
Otherd

28,423
24,679
3,744

23.2
20.1
3.1

Drug offenses

38,959

31.8

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationd
Other

49,264
5,737
43,527
8,589
16,495
775
17,668

40.2
4.7
35.5
7.0
13.4
0.6
14.4

877

Unknown or indeterminable offenses
a
Based on the decision of the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the matter.
b
Percent based on number whose offense
category could be determined.
c
Includes suspects whose offense category
could not be determined. See Methodology for
a listing of detailed offense categories within
each major offense category.

d
In this table, "Violent offenses" may include
nonnegligent manslaughter; "Fraudulent
property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent
property and includes destruction of property
and trespass-ing; and "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud.

Number of suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys,
by category of offense, 1982-2000
Number of suspects
140,000
All offenses

120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
50,000

Public-order
Public-order

40,000

Drug
Property

30,000

20,000

Property

Drug

10,000
Violent

1982

1984

Violent

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Note: Data for 1982 through 1993 are estimated from calendar year data; see Methodology. Beginning in 1994,
data are reported on the Federal fiscal year running from October 1 through September 30.

Figure 1

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table 3. Disposition of suspects in matters concluded by U.S. attorneys, by offense, October 1, 1999 September 30, 2000

Most serious offense investigateda
All offensese

Total
number of
suspects
117,450

Suspects in criminal matters concluded
Concluded
Prosecuted before
by U.S. magistratec
U.S. district court judgeb
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
73,090
62.2%
13,916
11.8%

Declined prosecutiond
Number
Percent
30,444
25.9%

Violent offensesf

5,641

3,403

60.3

329

5.8

1,909

33.8

Property offenses
Fraudulentf
Otherf

27,713
24,186
3,527

14,675
12,988
1,687

53.0
53.7
47.8

1,978
1,368
610

7.1
5.7
17.3

11,060
9,830
1,230

39.9
40.6
34.9

Drug offenses

37,009

28,917

78.1

1,966

5.3

6,126

16.6

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationf
Other

46,238
5,840
40,398
7,753
16,110
941
15,594

25,841
1,862
23,979
5,026
13,414
627
4,912

55.9
31.9
59.4
64.8
83.3
66.6
31.5

9,275
637
8,638
161
2,199
12
6,266

20.1
10.9
21.4
2.1
13.6
1.3
40.2

11,122
3,341
7,781
2,566
497
302
4,416

24.1
57.2
19.3
33.1
3.1
32.1
28.3

849

254

29.9

368

43.3

227

26.7

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

a
Based on the decision of the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the
matter.
b
Includes suspects whose cases were filed in U.S. district court before a
district court judge.
c
Includes defendants in misdemeanor cases that were terminated in U.S.
district court before a U.S. magistrate.
d
Includes suspects whose matters were declined for prosecution by U.S.
attorneys upon review.

e
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.
f
In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
"Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; and "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud.

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Table 4. Defendants in cases proceeded against in U.S. district courts,
by offense, October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000
Defendants in cases commenced
Number
Percentb
83,251
100%

Most serious offense chargeda
All offensesc

71,072

Felonies
Violent offensesd
Property offenses
Fraudulentd
Otherd
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationd
Other
Misdemeanorsd

3.8

15,237
12,659
2,578

18.3
15.2
3.1

29,455
27,734
1,721

35.4
33.3
2.1

23,245
1,264
21,981
6,073
12,036
573
3,299

27.9
1.5
26.4
7.3
14.5
0.7
4.0

12,104

14.5

Unknown or indeterminable offenses
a

Based on the offense carrying the most severe
statutory maximum penalty.
b
Percent distribution based on the defendants for
whom an offense category could be determined.
c
Includes defendants for whom an offense category could not be determined. See Methodology
for a listing of detailed offense categories within
each major offense category.

85.4

3,135

In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter; "Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other
nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent
property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud; and "Misdemeanors" include misdemeanors, petty offenses, and
unknown offense levels.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table 5. Disposition of defendants in cases terminated in U.S. district courts, by offense, October 1, 1999 September 30, 2000
Number of Percent
defendants convicted
76,952
88.6%

Most serious offense chargeda
All offensese
Felonies
f

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentf
Otherf
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationf
Other
Misdemeanorsf
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Defendants in cases terminating in U.S. district courts
Number convicted
Number not convicted
c
Total
Total
Trialc
Pleab
Dismissedd Acquitted
68,156
64,939
3,217
8,796
7,669
1,127

65,656

91.5

60,059

57,404

2,655

5,597

5,008

2,964

90.3

2,676

2,480

196

288

238

14,080
11,590
2,490

91.0
91.0
90.9

12,814
10,550
2,264

12,248
10,102
2,146

566
448
118

1,266
1,040
226

1,152
943
209

114
97
17

27,274
25,579
1,695

91.2
91.3
90.7

24,886
23,348
1,538

23,744
22,301
1,443

1,142
1,047
95

2,388
2,231
157

2,152
2,024
128

236
207
29

21,338
1,229
20,109
5,049
11,599
626
2,835

92.2
86.6
92.6
88.4
95.9
95.8
85.7

19,683
1,064
18,619
4,461
11,127
600
2,431

18,932
1,014
17,918
4,089
11,024
550
2,255

751
50
701
372
103
50
176

1,655
165
1,490
588
472
26
404

1,466
141
1,325
493
449
25
358

189
24
165
95
23
1
46

11,214

71.6

8,025

7,470

555

3,189

2,651

538

87.8

Based on the offense carrying the most severe statutory maximum penalty.
Includes nolo contendere.
c
Includes bench and jury trials.
d
Includes defendants in cases dismissed for lack of evidence or lack of Federal
interest.
e
Includes defendants for whom an offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense
category.
b

589

In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
"Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property"
excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and
trespassing; "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud; and "Misdemeanors"
include misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.

Number of defendants in criminal cases terminated in U.S. district court,
by category of offense, 1982-2000
Number of defendants
80,000

All offenses

70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000

Drug
Public-order

25,000
20,000

Public-order
Property

15,000

Property
Drug

10,000
5,000
0

1982

Violent

1984

Violent

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Note: Data for 1982 through 1993 are based on a 12-month calendar year reporting period ending December
31. Beginning in 1994, data are reported on the Federal fiscal year running from October 1 through September
30.
Figure 2 displays data by major offense category, but does not show the felony/misdemeanor distinction. Therefore, the 2000 data points will not match the data displayed in table 5, nor will the data points on the trend lines

Figure 2

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Table 6. Sanctions imposed on offenders convicted and sentenced in U.S. district courts, by offense,
October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000

Most serious offense of convictiona
All offensesg
Felonies
h

Total
68,156

Offenders convicted and sentenced
Number
Imprison- Mixed
mentb
sentencec Probationd Fine only Othere
49,961
490
11,937
2,716
2,885

59,123

48,670

400

7,477

310

58.0

36.0

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulenth
Otherh
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

2,557

2,344

149

86.6

63.0

12,454
10,396
2,058

7,377
6,203
1,174

85
69
16

4,166
3,372
794

146
136
10

615
557
58

24.3
22.5
33.4

15.0
14.0
18.0

24,206
22,275
1,931

22,197
20,489
1,708

155
144
11

1,130
971
159

51
43
8

649
607
42

75.6
75.2
81.1

55.0
51.0
60.0

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationh
Other

19,906
1,376
18,530
4,196
11,125
655
2,554

16,752
641
16,111
3,759
10,045
344
1,963

144
6
138
75
28
11
24

2,032
619
1,413
297
362
283
471

106
52
54
3
15
9
27

818
54
764
57
638
6
63

45.8
28.0
46.5
92.2
29.5
18.3
51.5

30.0
15.0
30.0
57.0
24.0
12.0
27.0

8,961

1,269

4,416

2,406

765

10.3

6.0

83.7

56.5

Misdemeanorsh

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Based on the disposition offense with the most severe sentence.
b
Includes offenders given life and death sentences, and includes new
law offenders given prison-community split sentences (prison and conditions of alternative community confinement).
c
Includes offenders given mixed sentences of prison plus probation; applicable only to offenders sentenced pursuant to laws applicable prior to
the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.
d
Includes offenders given probation plus conditions of confinement, such
as home confinement or intermittent confinement.
e
Includes offenders who had no sentence imposed, those with sealed
sentences, and those who were deported.

Calculations exclude offenders given life or death sentences. For new law
offenders given prison-community split sentences, imprisonment length includes prison sentences only.
g
Includes offenders for whom offense categories could not be determined or
for whom a sentence was unknown. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.
h
In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
"Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; "Tax law violation" includes tax fraud; and "Misdemeanors" include
misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.

Defendants convicted in U.S. district court: Percentage sentenced to prison,
by category of offense, 1982-2000
Percent of offenders
100%
Violent

Drug
Violent

Drug

All offenses
Public-order

80%

60%
All offenses

Property

40%
Public-order

20%

0%
1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Note: Data for 1982 through 1993 are based on a 12-month calendar year reporting period ending December 31.
Beginning in 1994, data are reported on the Federal fiscal year running from October 1 through September 30.
Figure 3 displays data by major offense category, but does not show the felony/misdemeanor distinction. Since
table 6 and Appendix tables A.10 and A.11 show felonies and misdemeanors separately, the percentages displayed in figure 3 cannot be calculated from numbers appearing in the tables.

Figure 3

2,117

Months of imprisonment imposedf
Mean
Median
56.8 mo
33.0 mo

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table 7. Criminal appeals filed, by type of criminal case and offense, October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000

Most serious offense of convictiona
All offensesb
Violent offensesc

Total
9,162

Number of criminal appeals filed
Guidelines-based appeals
Sentence Conviction Sentence and
only
conviction
only
Total
7,777
2,234
1,048
4,459

Preguideline
1,385

Other
36

490

434

126

247

Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc

1,482
1,164
318

235
188
47

1,247
976
271

338
271
67

192
149
43

706
547
159

11
9
2

Drug offenses

3,843

564

3,279

977

443

1,849

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

2,878
150
2,728
872
1,179
85
592

335
20
315
145
30
20
120

2,543
130
2,413
727
1,149
65
472

702
44
658
185
314
14
145

316
14
302
114
88
14
86

1,511
70
1,441
423
744
36
238

14
2
12
5
3
1
3

469

195

274

146

Unknown or indeterminable offenses
a

Based on the disposition offense with the most severe sentence.
Includes offenders for whom offense category could not be determined.
See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each
major offense category.

In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent
manslaughter; "Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; and "Tax law violation" includes tax
fraud.

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Table 8. Offenders under Federal supervision, by offense, October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000

Most serious offense of convictionb
All offensesc
Feloniesd
e

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulente
Othere
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violatione
Other
Misdemeanorse

Total
Number
99,500

Offenders under active supervisiona
Post-incarceration supervision
Probation
Parole
Supervised release
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
31,019
100%
4,544
100%
63,937
100%

89,048

21,117

68.4

4,536

99.9

5,807

643

2.1

1,338

29.5

3,826

6.0

11,796
9,505
2,291

38.2
30.8
7.4

461
262
199

10.1
5.8
4.4

16,514
14,137
2,377

25.9
22.1
3.7

39,700
35,437
4,263

3,422
3,052
370

11.1
9.9
1.2

2,222
2,010
212

48.9
44.3
4.7

34,056
30,375
3,681

53.3
47.6
5.8

14,558
2,417
12,141
4,522
1,537
1,589
4,493

5,107
1,395
3,712
694
675
937
1,406

16.5
4.5
12.0
2.2
2.2
3.0
4.6

513
32
481
169
5
20
287

11.3
0.7
10.6
3.7
0.1
0.4
6.3

8,938
990
7,948
3,659
857
632
2,800

14.0
1.5
12.4
5.7
1.3
1.0
4.4

10,452

9,902

32.1

0.2

542

0.8

Includes 212 total offenders, 149 offenders under probation, 2 under parole, and 61 under supervised release whose felony offense
category could not be determined.
e
In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter; "Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; "Tax law violation" includes tax
fraud; and "Misdemeanors" include misdemeanors, petty offenses,
and unknown offense levels.

Number of offenders under Federal supervision, by type of supervision,
1987-2000
Number of defendants
120,000

100,000

80,000
Supervised release
Parole

60,000

40,000
Probation

20,000

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Note: Data for 1987 through 1994 are based on a count of the supervised population as of June 30. Beginning
in 1995, data are based on a count as of September 30.

Figure 4

99.2

28,771
23,904
4,867

a
Includes offenders under active supervision at the close of the fiscal year.
This population includes offenders under the three major forms of supervision: probation, supervised release, and parole. Included under parole
are two less common types of old law release: mandatory release and
special parole. Excluded from the number of offenders under active supervision reported in the table are offenders released to military parole and
offenders under community supervision prior to sentencing (such as during pretrial release or pretrial investigation).
b
Based on the offense with the longest sentence imposed.
c
Includes offenders for whom offense category could not be determined.
See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each
major offense category.

63,395

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table 9. Federal prison admissions and releases, by offense, October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000
Prisoners admitted
Population at
start of year District courtb All otherc
120,287
49,678
15,240

Most serious original offense of
convictiona
All offensesf

Prisoners released
District courtd All othere
40,720
15,156

Population at
end of year
Net change
129,329
9,042

Violent offensesg

12,993

2,183

2,412

2,070

2,545

12,973

-20

Property offenses
Fraudulentg
Otherg

9,736
7,312
2,424

6,822
5,685
1,137

3,684
2,391
1,293

6,643
5,490
1,153

3,750
2,401
1,349

9,849
7,497
2,352

113
185
-72

Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

69,000
68,286
714

21,450
21,257
193

4,997
4,579
418

17,026
16,827
199

5,032
4,520
512

73,389
72,775
614

4,389
4,489
-100

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationg
Other

27,422
1,195
26,227
9,702
10,668
407
5,450

18,543
681
17,862
3,045
12,005
383
2,429

3,781
251
3,530
987
1,146
80
1,317

14,420
679
13,741
2,095
9,227
311
2,108

3,471
243
3,228
987
916
73
1,252

31,855
1,205
30,650
10,652
13,676
486
5,836

4,433
10
4,423
950
3,008
79
386

1,136

680

366

561

358

1,263

127

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: The universe for this table includes sentenced offenders in BOP custody and offenders in contract and private facilities, but not those committed for violations of the District of Columbia criminal code unless they were committed by a Federal district court
judge. See Methodology for more information.
a
Based on the offense having the longest sentence.
b
Offenders committed from U.S. district courts. This number will not equal the number of
defendants sentenced to prison reported in table 6, due to the delay between the time an
offender is sentenced in court and when that offender actually reports to a BOP facility.
c
Includes other commitments, such as offenders committed from other courts and violators
of conditions of supervised release.
d
Includes prisoners released for the first time from a U.S. district court commitment.

e
Includes prisoners released from commitments other than a
first release from a U.S. district court commitment.
f
Includes prisoners for whom an offense category could not be
determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense
categories within each major offense category.
g
In this table, "Violent offenses" may include nonnegligent manslaughter; "Fraudulent property" excludes tax fraud; "Other nonfraudulent property" excludes fraudulent property and includes
destruction of property and trespassing; and "Tax law violation"
includes tax fraud.

U.S. district court commitments and first releases from Federal prison,
by expected or actual time in prison, 1986-2000
Number of months
60

Expected time to be served
for offenders committed
to prison

20
Average time served by offenders
released from prison

0
1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Note: Beginning in 2000, average time served is calculated for offenders in BOP custody and offenders in
contract and private facilities, but not those committed for violations of the District of Columbia criminal code.

Figure 5

Federal criminal case processing, 2000

Methodology
The Federal justice database
Source of data
The source of data for all tables in
Federal Criminal Case Processing is
the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Federal justice database. The database is presently constructed from
source files provided by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
(EOUSA), the Administrative Office of
the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), the United
States Sentencing Commission
(USSC), and the Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP). AOUSC also maintains the data collected by the U.S.
Court of Appeals and the Federal Probation and Supervision Information
System (FPSIS). Federal law prohibits the use of these files for any purpose other than research or statistics.
A description of the source agency
data files is provided in table M.2 at
the end of this section.
Data universe
The universe of the BJS Federal justice database includes criminal suspects investigated for violations of
Federal criminal law, criminal suspects arrested for violations of Federal criminal law, defendants in cases
filed in U.S. district courts, and offenders entering Federal corrections and
correctional supervision.
The universe of criminal suspects arrested is all suspects arrested by the
Federal law enforcement agencies
(including the USMS), state agencies,
and self-reported arrests and transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for processing, transportation, and detention.
The universe of criminal suspects is
limited to those whose matters were
investigated by U.S. attorneys and in
which the investigation took at least
one hour of a U.S. attorney’s time.
The universe of defendants in Federal
criminal courts is limited to those defendants whose cases were filed in a
U.S. district court, whether before a
U.S. district court judge or a U.S.
magistrate. This includes all felony

defendants, Class A misdemeanant
defendants, and those defendants
charged with petty offenses and handled by a U.S. district court judge.
The universe of offenders includes all
sentenced offenders under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons regardless of the source of their
commitment (e.g., U.S. district court,
State court, or military court, or return
from a violation of conditions of supervision) or length of sentence. This
may include some offenders who
were convicted of immigration offenses who were committed for petty
offenses. It does not include those offenders who were convicted of violations of the District of Columbia criminal code unless they were committed
by a Federal district court judge.
The universe of supervised offenders
includes persons entering and exiting
terms of Federal supervision, and persons under Federal supervision during the fiscal year. Supervision types
include probation, parole, and supervised release. Included amongst parole supervisees are those under two
less common types of "old law" supervision (sentenced prior to the implementation of the Sentencing Reform
Act of 1984): mandatory release and
special release.
The universe of suspects, defendants,
and offenders varies from table to table in this report, depending on the
definition of the statistic reported and
the source of the data.
Reporting period
Wherever possible, matters or cases
have been selected according to
some event which occurred during fiscal year 2000 (October 1, 1999,
through September 30, 2000). Some
data files provided by source agencies
are organized according to a calendar
year time frame; these have been
combined and divided into fiscal years
for purposes of this report. Files
which are organized by their source
agencies according to fiscal year
nonetheless include some pertinent
records in later years' files. For example, tabulations of suspects in matters concluded during fiscal year 2000

have been assembled from source
files containing records of 2000 matters concluded which were entered
into the data system during fiscal
years 1999 or 2000.
In the figures showing trends in Federal criminal case processing, information is presented for a period between 1982 and 2000. Data from the
EOUSA are estimated from 1982
through 1993, as data prior to 1993 included appeals information not included in the subsequent years. Because of changes in the reporting and
collection of data over time, data collected prior to 1994 from AOUSC and
EOUSA were reported on a calendaryear basis; data collected from 19942000 are on a fiscal-year basis. The
figures are marked and noted according to the period of measurement. In
figure 4, data collected from FPSIS
reflect the supervised population as of
June 30 for the period of 1987-1994,
and the population as of September
30 for the period of 1995-2000. In figure 5, data collected from BOP, presented from 1985-2000, are reported
on a fiscal-year basis.
Table construction and
interpretation
Universe in each table
The universe in table 1 is suspects arrested for violations of Federal criminal law and transferred to the custody
of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The universe in tables 2 and 3, and
figure 1 is suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys. A
person appearing in multiple matters
will be counted separately for each
matter. Matters include criminal proceedings handled exclusively by U.S.
attorneys, or in which U.S. attorneys
provided assistance and spent at
least one hour of time.
The universe in tables 4, 5, and 6, as
well as figures 2 and 3, is defendants
adjudicated and sentenced in U.S.
district court. Included are defendants
charged with felonies, Class A and B
misdemeanors, and petty offenses if
the petty offenses are handled by U.S.
district court judges. Defendants who

Methodology

appear in more than one case are
counted separately for each distinct
case in which they appear. Defendants may have been charged under
"old law" (pre-Sentencing Reform Act)
or "new law" (post-Sentencing Reform
Act) standards.
The universe in table 7 is criminal appeals filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Appeals filed include both
Preguidelines- and Guidelines-based
appeals. The Sentencing Reform Act
allowed for the appeal of sentences
imposed, where previously only the
conviction could be appealed.
The universe in table 8 and figure 4 is
offenders entering, exiting, or under
active supervision. Active supervision
includes supervisees who report regularly to their supervising officers. Excluded are offenders released to military parole and offenders who are under community release prior to
sentencing.
The universe in table 9 and figure 5 is
sentenced Federal offenders committed into Federal prison facilities — regardless of the court from which they
were committed and regardless of the
length of sentence. Federal prison facilities include BOP facilities, as well
as private and contract facilities. The
universe includes primarily offenders
committed from U.S. district courts by
U.S. district court judges, but also includes those committed by U.S. magistrates, military courts, and some
State courts. In addition, it includes
offenders who violated conditions of
supervised release and who were returned to prison for their violations
rather than from a court commitment.
It does not include offenders committed for violations of the District of Columbia criminal code unless they were
committed by a Federal district court
judge.
Unit of analysis
The unit of analysis in tables 1
through 7 is a combination of a person (or corporation) and a matter or
case. For example, if a single person
is involved in three different criminal
cases during the time period specified
in the table, he or she is counted three

times in the tabulation. Similarly, if a
single criminal case involves a corporate defendant and four individual defendants, it counts five times in the
tabulation.
In tables 8 and 9, the unit of analysis
for incarceration, probation, parole, or
other supervised release is a person
entering custody or supervision, or a
person leaving custody or supervision.
For example, a person convicted in
two concurrent cases and committed
once to the custody of the BOP in the
indicated time period is counted as
one admission to a term of incarceration. A person who leaves a BOP facility, reenters, and leaves again in the
same fiscal-year period would be
counted as one admission and two releases. A person who terminates probation twice in the indicated time period, such as with a violation and
again after reinstatement, is counted
as two terminations of probation.

National Crime Information Center
(NCIC) offense classifications, which
are converted into U.S. Marshals’ four
digit offense codes. These offense
codes are then aggregated into the offense categories shown in table 1.
For data from EOUSA (tables 2 and 3,
figure 1), which include U.S. Code citations but do not include the AOUSC
offense classifications, U.S. Code titles and sections are translated into
the AOUSC classification system and
then aggregated into the offense categories used in the tables. Offense
categories for prisoners in table 9 are
based on combinations of offense
designations used by BOP. They are
similar to the categories in other tables, but may not be directly
comparable.
Felony/misdemeanor distinctions
Felony and misdemeanor distinctions
are provided where possible. Felony
offenses are those with a maximum
penalty of more than 1 year in prison.
Misdemeanor offenses are those with
a maximum penalty of 1 year or less.
Felonies and misdemeanors are further classified using the maximum
term of imprisonment authorized.
Section 3559, U.S. Code, Title 18
classifies offenses according to the
following schedule:

Interpretation
The data presented in this report are
a statistical presentation of offenders
processed in the Federal criminal justice system. The tables presented describe the number of offenders processed and the outcome of that processing at each stage of the Federal
criminal justice system. Because
many tables represent different crosssections of offenders, comparisons
across tables are not necessarily
valid.

Felonies
Class A felony — life imprisonment,
or if the maximum penalty is death.

Offense classifications

Class B felony — 25 years or more.

Procedure
The offense classification procedure
used in this report is based on the
classification system followed by the
AOUSC. Specific offenses in the
AOUSC classification are combined to
form the BJS categories shown in this
report’s tables.*
For data from USMS (table 1) offense
categories are based on the FBI’s
*These categories correspond to the BJS
crime definitions and, to the extent possible, are organized and presented consistent with BJS publications on State criminal justice systems.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Class C felony — less than 25 years
but more than 10 years.
Class D felony — less than 10 years
but more than 5 years.
Class E felony — less than 5 years
but more than 1 year.
Misdemeanors
Class A misdemeanor — 1 year or
less but more than 1 month.
Class B misdemeanor — 6 months
or less but more than 30 days.
Class C misdemeanor — 30 days or
less but more than 5 days.

Infraction — 5 days or less, or if no
imprisonment is authorized.
In this report, felony and misdemeanor distinctions are provided
where the data permit these distinctions. Tables 1, 2, and 3 do not use
this distinction because many suspects cannot be so classified at the investigation stage in the criminal justice process. Table 7 does not use
this distinction because the Court of
Appeals data do not allow for such a
breakout. Table 9 does not use this
distinction because BOP offense categories do not allow for such a breakout. None of the figures showing
trend data report this distribution.

and sub-group categories are composed of individual offense types.
Where the data source allows, drug
offenses are broken out into the individual offense level. “Other publicorder offenses” include a limited
breakout at the individual offense type
level. Table M.1 shows a list of specific offenses under each offense
category.
Offense categories
For offenses referred to in table M.1,
the following conditions apply:
"Murder" includes nonnegligent
manslaughter.

Figures 2 and 3 display data by major
offense category but do not show the
felony/misdemeanor distinction.
Therefore, the data points for major
offense categories represented on the
trend lines will not match the data in
Appendix tables A.7, A.9, and A.10,
respectively, nor will the 2000 data
points match the data for major offense categories in tables 5 and 6.

"Sexual abuse" includes only violent
sex offenses. Nonviolent sex offenses, such as prostitution, are included in a separate category, “Nonviolent sex offenses.” Including
nonviolent sex offenses in a separate
category is a change from previous
years’ reports and therefore the 2000
tables are not directly comparable
with the appendix tables in this report,
or with older editions of this report.

Classification level

"Fraud" excludes tax fraud.

Offenses in the tables in this report
are classified, at the most general
level, into felony and misdemeanor
categories. Felonies are then broken
out by four main level offense classifications: violent, property, drug, and
public-order offenses. Property and
public-order offenses are broken out
into two sublevels. The main-level

"Larceny" excludes transportation of
stolen property.
"Other property felonies" excludes
fraudulent property offenses, and includes destruction of property and
trespass.
"Tax law violations" includes tax
fraud.

"Obscene material" denotes the mail
or transport thereof.
"All other felonies" includes felonies
with unclassifiable offense type.
"Misdemeanors" includes misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.
"Drug possession" also includes
other drug misdemeanors.
Most serious offense selection
Where more than one offense is
charged or adjudicated, the most serious offense (the one that may or did
result in the most severe sentence) is
used to classify offenses. The offense description may change as the
criminal justice process proceeds.
Tables indicate whether investigated,
charged, or adjudicated offenses are
used.
In tables 2 and 3, the most serious offense is based on the criminal lead
charge as determined by the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the
criminal proceeding.
In tables 4 and 5, the most serious offense charged is the one that has the
most severe potential sentence.
For table 6, conviction offenses are
based on the disposition offenses
having the most severe penalty.
In table 7, an offense is classified into
the category that represents the underlying offense of conviction, based

Table M.1. Breakout of main category offenses
Felonies
Property offenses
Violent offenses
Fraudulent
Other
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Murder
Embezzlement Burglary
Possession
Negligent
Larceny
Fraud
manslaughter
Motor vehicle theft Other drug offenses
Forgery
Assault
Counterfeiting
Arson and
explosives
Robbery
Transportation of
Sexual abuse
stolen property
Kidnaping
Other
property
Threats against the
offenses
President

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Agriculture
Weapons
Antitrust
Immigration
offenses
Food and drug
Tax law violations
Transportation
Bribery
Civil rights
Communications Perjury, contempt,
and intimidation
Custom laws
National defense
Postal laws
Racketeering/
Other regulatory
extortion
offenses
Gambling
Nonviolent sex
offenses
Obscene material
Mi
bi d

Misdemeanors
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration
Traffic offense
Other misdemeanors
Fraudulent property

Methodology

on the disposition offense with the
most severe sentence.
In table 8, the most serious offense of
conviction is either the one having the
longest sentence imposed or, if equal
sentences were imposed or there was
no imprisonment, it was the offense
carrying the highest severity code as
determined by AOUSC’s offense severity code ranking.
In table 9, prisoners are classified according to the offense which bears the
longest single incarceration sentence.
Estimations
Several methods were used to estimate the trend data in this report.
Estimated number of suspects
in criminal matters
Because of a change in the reporting
protocol for information received from
the EOUSA effective with fiscal year
1994 data, it was necessary to estimate certain statistics for years 19821993. Prior to 1994, reports of the
number of suspects in criminal matters included appellants in Federal
criminal appeals. Because full-source
agency data prior to 1994 could not
be accessed, an estimation procedure
was used to estimate the number of
appellants within main offense categories and then subtract them from
the number of suspects in criminal
matters which included appellants.
The procedure is described in the following paragraphs.
The objective was to estimate the
number of appellants included in reports of the number of suspects in
criminal matters. This is denoted below as AEO.
Using existing data on appellants derived from alternative sources, such
as AOUSC reports, an estimator was
developed based on the assumption
that the ratio of appellants to defendants plus appellants in the EOUSA
data was equal to the observed ratio
of appellants to appellants plus defendants in the AOUSC data, or:

AAO
(AAO+DAO)

AEO
(AEO+DEO)

where:
AAO = number of AO appellants
DAO = number of AO defendants
AEO = number of EO appellants
DEO = number of EO defendants
Solving for AEO yields:
AEO =

AAO
x (AEO+DEO)
(AAO+DAO)

Solving for AEO yields the estimator
above. This estimator was used to
produce estimates each year between
1982 and 1993 using data from these
years. The estimated number of appellants in suspects in criminal matters was subtracted from the reported
number to derive the estimated number of suspects in criminal matters.
These were used in figure 1. These
estimates were done at the level of offense category (violent, property,
drugs, and public-order).
Estimated expected time to be
served for offenders entering
prison
The methodology for estimating expected time to be served to first release for prisoners entering the BOP
system from a district court commitment involves grouping prisoners by
their fiscal year of entry. Once this
grouping has occurred, each prisoner
is classified into one of the following
categories:
a) a prisoner who has been released
by the end of the observation window (1985-2000);
b) a prisoner still incarcerated at the
end of the observation window who
was sentenced prior to the passage
of the Sentencing Reform Act of
1984 (an "old law" prisoner);
c) a prisoner still incarcerated at the
end of the observation window who
was sentenced after to the passage
of the Sentencing Reform Act (a
"new law" prisoner).
For prisoners in category (a) actual
time served is recorded. For those

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

prisoners in category (b), an estimate
of time to be served is used, based on
the mean time served by similar prisoners in previous entering years
(1985-98). For prisoners in category
(c) sentenced to more than 1 year,
time to be served is 87% of the sentence imposed, which is the minimum
sentence to be served under the Sentencing Reform Act. For prisoners in
category (c) sentenced to 1 year or
less, time to be served is equal to the
sentence imposed.
Statistics appearing in Federal
Criminal Case Processing, 2000
The statistics appearing in this report
are as follows:
Table 1. Suspects arrested
This is the number of suspects arrested by Federal law enforcement
agencies for violations of Federal law
and transferred to the custody of the
U.S. Marshals Service for booking
and pretrial detention. Not included
are suspects arrested by Federal
agencies and transferred directly to
the custody of a State prosecutor.
Table 2. Suspects in matters
investigated by U.S. attorneys
This is the number of suspects in
criminal matters whom U.S. attorneys
spent at least one hour investigating.
It excludes suspects whose matters
were immediately declined or whose
matters were received via transfer
from another district. An immediate
declination is one in which a U.S. attorney declines to prosecute a criminal matter without investigating the
matter. Suspects may include persons, corporations, or other legal entities. Matters are limited to criminal
matters investigated by U.S. attorneys
or matters in which U.S. attorneys assisted in the investigation. Suspects
appearing in more than one matter
are counted separately for each
matter.
Table 3. Suspects in matters
concluded by U.S. attorneys
This is the number of suspects in
criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys, regardless of the year in

which the criminal matter was
opened. A matter is defined as concluded when a U.S. attorney files a
case in a U.S. district court before a
U.S. district court judge, when a U.S.
attorney declines to prosecute the
matter, or when a misdemeanor case
is concluded before a U.S. magistrate.
The table excludes suspects whose
matter was declined immediately or
whose matter was concluded by
transfer. Suspects in matters concluded may include persons, corporations, or other legal entities and are
limited to the suspects investigated or
prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, or in
which U.S. attorneys assisted in the
investigation or prosecution. Suspects
appearing in more than one matter
are counted separately for each
matter.
Table 4. Defendants in cases
commenced
This is the number of defendants in
cases proceeded in U.S. district court,
either before a U.S. district court
judge or a U.S. magistrate. Proceedings are initiated on or after the date a
case is filed in a U.S. district court.
Included in the count are defendants
in cases handled by U.S. district court
judges plus Class A misdemeanors,
whether handled by a U.S. district
court judge or a U.S. magistrate. Also
included are defendants in cases involving petty offenses (Class B or C
misdemeanors) if they were handled
by U.S. district court judges. These
cases included all cases commenced
regardless of the source of prosecution — U.S. attorneys or Department
of Justice. Excluded from this count
are defendants whose cases were
opened by transfer from another district (e.g., a Rule 20 or Rule 40 transfer). Defendants appearing in more
than one case are counted separately
in each case.
Table 5. Defendants in cases
terminated
This is the number of defendants
whose cases were terminated in U.S.
district court. A case is terminated if a
defendant is found not guilty, the
charges are dismissed, or when a

defendant is sentenced, if he or she
was convicted. Included in the count
are defendants in cases handled by
U.S. district court judges plus Class A
misdemeanors, whether handled by a
U.S. district court judge or a U.S.
magistrate. Also included are defendants in cases involving petty offenses (Class B or C misdemeanors)
if they were handled by U.S. district
court judges. These cases included
all cases commenced regardless of
the source of prosecution — U.S. attorneys or Department of Justice. Excluded from this count are defendants
whose cases were opened by transfer
from another district (e.g., a Rule 20
or Rule 40 transfer). Defendants appearing in more than one case are
counted separately in each case.
Defendants are classified as convicted if they pleaded guilty, nolo contendere, or if they are found guilty at
trial. Defendants convicted by trial included those found guilty by reason of
insanity. Defendants not convicted includes defendants whose cases were
dismissed and those who were acquitted or found not guilty at trial.
Table 6. Defendants sentenced
This is the number of defendants sentenced in U.S. district court. Included
are defendants sentenced in cases
handled by U.S. district court judges
plus Class A misdemeanors, whether
handled by a U.S. district court judge
or a U.S. magistrate. Also included
are defendants sentenced for petty offenses (Class B or C misdemeanors)
if they were handled by U.S. district
court judges. These cases included
all cases commenced regardless of
the source of prosecution — U.S. attorneys or Department of Justice. Excluded from this count are defendants
whose cases were opened by transfer
from another district (e.g., a Rule 20
or Rule 40 transfer). Defendants appearing in more than one case are
counted separately in each case.
The sanctions shown in table 5 include imprisonment only, mixed sentences of prison plus supervision, probation, and fine only. Imprisonment is
limited to defendants receiving terms

of imprisonment but no probation, including life and death sentences, but
excluding suspended sentences or
sentences to fewer than 4 days. New
law offenders receiving prisoncommunity split sentences (prison
and conditions of alternative community confinement) are also included.
Mixed sentences include defendants
given sentences of both prison and
probation (applies to offenders sentenced under "old law" standards
only). Probation includes defendants
given sentences of probation. Defendants who received probation plus
conditions of confinement such as intermittent confinement, home detention, or community confinement are
classified under probation. Fine only
includes defendants who received
only a fine. Other sentences include
sealed sentences, prison sentences
of 4 days or less, deportations, and
cases in which the defendant was
convicted but not given a sentence.
The statistics on mean and median
prison sentences are based on the
number given prison exclusive of life
and death sentences. For offenders
given prison-community split sentences, only the prison sentence
length is included in the calculation.
Table 7. Criminal appeals filed
This table reports the number of criminal appeals filed in the U.S. Court of
Appeals. Prior to implementation of
the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984,
only criminal convictions could be appealed. However, the Sentencing Reform Act provided for the appellate review of sentences imposed given that
the sentence was (1) imposed in violation of the law; (2) imposed as the
result of an incorrect sentencing
guideline application; (3) outside the
recommended guideline sentencing
range; or (4) imposed for an offense
for which no sentencing guideline exists and is plainly unreasonable. Both
the defendant and the Government
have the right to appeal an imposed
sentence (18 U.S.C. § 3742).

Methodology

Table 8. Offenders under
Federal supervision
This table reports the number of offenders under active supervision at
the close of the fiscal year. It includes
offenders under three forms of supervision: probation, supervised release,
and parole. Included in parole supervisees are those under two less common types of "old law" (sentenced
prior to the implementation of the
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984),
mandatory release and special release. The unit of analysis is a unique
person released on supervision.

court commitment. Other releases include releases of offenders who were
serving terms for violating conditions
of supervised release — offenders
who were committed on other than a
district court commitment.

Table 9. Prisoners
This table reports the number of sentenced Federal offenders committed
into the custody of the BOP, released
from this custody, or in Federal
prison. "Into the custody of" includes
prisoners in BOP facilities, contract facilities, and private facilities. Contract
facilities generally house offenders
prior to release from prison. Sentenced offenders include felony, misdemeanor, and petty offenders sentenced to prison for Federal offensesregardless of the judge — U.S. district
court judge or U.S. magistrate — who
sentenced the offender. Table 9 does
not include those offenders who were
convicted of violations of the District
of Columbia criminal code unless they
were committed by a Federal district
court judge. The unit of analysis is a
unique person in Federal prison. The
unit of count for prisoner movements
is based on admissions and releases
into and from Federal prison. A
unique person may appear more than
once in a column showing admissions
and releases if that person was admitted or released from Federal prison
more than once during the reporting
period.
Included in the counts of district court
commitments are offenders sentenced from district courts. This includes some offenders sentenced by
U.S. magistrates. Other admissions
include offenders committed from
other courts and offenders returning
to prison for violations of conditions of
supervised release. A first release is
defined as a release from a district

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table M.2. Source agencies for data tables in Federal Criminal Case Processing
Data source agency — data files

Description of data files contents

United States Marshals Service (USMS) Contains information about the arrests made by Federal law enforce— Prisoner Tracking System
ment agencies (including the USMS), State agencies, and self-reported
arrests. The Prisoner Tracking System contains information on offenders transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for processing, transportation, and detention.
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
(EOUSA) — Central System and
Central Charge Files

Contains information on the investigation and prosecution of suspects
in criminal matters received and concluded, criminal cases filed and
terminated, and criminal appeals filed and handled by U.S. attorneys.
The central system files contain defendant-level records about the
processing of matters and cases; the central charge files contain the
records of the charges filed and disposed in criminal cases. Data are
available on matters and cases filed, pending, and terminated.

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Contains information about the criminal proceedings against defen(AOUSC) — Criminal Termination Files dants whose cases were filed in U.S. district courts. Includes information on felony defendants, Class A misdemeanants — whether handled
by U.S. district court judges or U.S. magistrates — and other misdemeanants provided they were handled by U.S. district court judges.
The information in the data files cover criminal proceedings from case
filing through disposition and sentencing. Data are available on criminal defendants in cases filed, pending, and terminated.

Tables
Table 1
Appendix table A.1

Tables 2, 3
Appendix tables A.2, A.3,
A.4, A.5, A.6

Tables 4, 5, 6
Appendix tables A.7, A.8,
A.9, A.10, A.11, A.13, A.14

Contains information on criminal appeals filed and terminated in U.S
courts of appeals. Records of appeals filed, pending, or terminated include information on the nature of the criminal appeal, the underlying
offense, and the disposition of the appeal.

Table 7

AOUSC — Federal Probation
Supervision Information System
(FPSIS)

Contains information about supervisions provided by probation officers
for persons placed on probation or supervised release from prison.
The files contain records of individuals entering, or currently on supervision, as well as records of offenders terminating supervision.

Table 8

Bureau of Prisons (BOP): Extract from
BOP’s online Sentry System

The data extracts contain information on all offenders committed to or
released from prison over a specific period of time plus information
about the offenders in prison when the data extracts are made. The information covers the time that offenders enter prison until their release
from the jurisdiction of the BOP.

Table 9

AOUSC: Court of Appeals

Appendix table A.12

Appendix table A.15

Appendix table A.16

Methodology

Appendix

Tables
A.1. Arrests for Federal offenses, by offense,
1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.2. Suspects in criminal matters investigated
by U.S. attorneys, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.3. Suspects in criminal matters concluded
by U.S. attorneys, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.4. Suspects in criminal matters concluded
by U.S. attorneys: Number prosecuted
before U.S. district court judge, by offense,
1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.5. Suspects in criminal matters concluded
by U.S. magistrates, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6. Suspects in criminal matters concluded
by U.S. attorneys: Number declined
prosecution, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.7. Defendants in cases proceeded against
in U.S. district courts, by offense,
1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.8. Defendants in cases terminating in
U.S. district courts, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.9. Defendants in cases terminating in
U.S. district courts: Percent convicted,
by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.10. Offenders convicted and sentenced in
U.S. district courts, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.11. Offenders convicted and sentenced in
U.S. district courts: Number sentenced
to prison, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.12. Criminal appeals filed, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . .
A.13. Offenders convicted and sentenced in
U.S. district courts: Number sentenced
to probation only, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.14. Offenders convicted and sentenced in
U.S. district courts: Mean number of months
of imprisonment imposed, by offense,
1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.15. Offenders under Federal supervision,
by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.16. Population at the end of the year in
Federal prisons, by offense, 1994-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix

27
27
28

28
29

30
30

31
31

32
32

33
34
34

Table A.1. Arrests for Federal offenses, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense
b

All offenses

1994
81,742

1995
84,336

1996
85,718

1997
91,747

1998
104,636

1999a
109,857

2000a
115,589

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

3,918

3,845

4,462

4,736

4,934

4,276

4,250

15,731
12,074
3,657

16,436
12,959
3,477

16,365
12,870
3,495

16,288
12,912
3,376

16,966
13,363
3,603

16,749
13,260
3,489

16,842
13,432
3,410

23,674

24,174

24,821

26,843

30,137

31,992

32,630

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

24,385
535
23,850
3,917
8,778
1,243
9,912

24,787
702
24,085
3,756
10,601
1,265
8,463

24,871
656
24,215
3,148
12,027
1,234
7,806

27,553
749
26,804
3,235
14,994
1,312
7,263

33,854
775
33,079
3,555
20,944
1,255
7,325

37,097
752
36,345
4,284
22,851
1,305
7,905

40,471
621
39,850
5,203
25,205
1,170
8,272

Supervision violations

12,940

13,719

13,364

13,995

15,206

15,652

17,133

Material witness

886

1,143

1,617

2,169

3,398

4,016

4,203

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

208

232

218

163

141

Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent
offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

In this table, “Violent offenses” may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
“Fraudulent property” excludes tax fraud; “Other nonfraudulent property”
excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; and “Tax law violation” includes tax fraud.

Table A.2. Suspects in criminal matters investigated by U.S. attorneys, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense investigated
b

All offenses

1994
99,251

1995
102,220

1996
97,776

1997
110,034

1998
115,692

1999a
117,994

2000a
123,559

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

5,570

5,720

6,570

7,354

7,527

5,768

6,036

32,579
28,491
4,088

31,759
27,836
3,923

28,962
25,245
3,717

29,916
25,854
4,062

30,125
26,328
3,797

28,011
24,200
3,811

28,423
24,679
3,744

29,311

31,686

30,227

34,027

36,355

37,313

38,959

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

30,665
5,059
25,606
5,996
5,526
1,473
12,611

31,668
5,371
26,297
5,376
7,256
1,348
12,317

30,502
5,154
25,348
4,462
7,122
1,428
12,336

37,093
5,423
31,670
4,870
9,366
1,403
16,031

40,265
6,541
33,724
4,907
14,114
1,174
13,529

45,337
6,332
39,005
6,982
15,539
982
15,502

49,264
5,737
43,527
8,589
16,495
775
17,668

1,126

1,387

1,515

1,644

1,420

1,565

877

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense investigated is based on the decision of the assistant
U.S. attorney responsible for the matter.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent
offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Appendix

Table A.3. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense investigated
b

All offenses

1994
94,980

1995
102,309

1996
98,454

1997
99,459

1998
106,022

1999a
113,933

2000a
117,450

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

5,339

5,399

6,107

6,570

6,865

5,631

5,641

31,752
28,038
3,714

33,888
29,861
4,027

31,038
27,294
3,744

28,633
25,157
3,476

27,461
23,712
3,749

28,314
24,575
3,739

27,713
24,186
3,527

27,697

31,261

30,708

32,072

33,991

36,765

37,009

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

29,604
4,990
24,614
5,992
5,299
1,478
11,845

30,861
5,264
25,597
5,732
6,660
1,329
11,876

29,562
4,843
24,719
4,673
6,929
1,403
11,714

30,882
4,582
26,300
4,646
8,774
1,349
11,531

36,650
5,427
31,223
4,742
13,249
1,024
12,208

42,026
5,698
36,328
5,919
15,201
1,193
14,015

46,238
5,840
40,398
7,753
16,110
941
15,594

588

900

1,039

1,302

1,055

1,197

849

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Table A.4. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys: Number prosecuted before U.S. district court
judge, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense investigated
b

All offenses

1994
50,802

1995
55,703

1996
56,938

1997
60,383

1998
64,993

1999a
68,384

2000a
73,090

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

3,256

3,223

3,784

4,153

4,294

3,327

3,403

14,680
12,683
1,997

15,918
13,858
2,060

15,270
13,337
1,933

14,544
12,663
1,881

14,353
12,408
1,945

14,032
12,319
1,713

14,675
12,988
1,687

19,427

21,445

21,548

24,400

26,266

28,372

28,917

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

13,195
1,297
11,898
3,821
2,789
927
4,361

14,809
1,509
13,300
3,758
4,305
881
4,356

15,974
1,396
14,578
2,935
5,830
862
4,951

16,744
1,332
15,412
3,192
7,243
897
4,080

19,782
1,571
18,211
3,347
10,505
661
3,698

22,419
1,648
20,771
4,149
11,794
737
4,091

25,841
1,862
23,979
5,026
13,414
627
4,912

244

308

362

542

298

234

254

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense investigated is based on the decision of the assistant
U.S. attorney responsible for the matter. Number of suspects includes suspects
whose cases were filed in U.S. district court before a district court judge.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent
offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table A.5. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. magistrates, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense investigated
b

All offenses

1994
9,754

1995
10,710

1998
12,243

1999a
14,545

2000a
13,916

1996
8,684

1997
10,007
352

305

308

329

1,919
1,635
284

2,171
1,651
520

2,321
1,678
643

1,978
1,368
610

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

264

295

1,781
1,536
245

2,043
1,743
300

1,771
1,511
260

1,821

2,456

2,262

1,903

1,561

2,132

1,966

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

5,838
198
5,640
189
2,217
49
3,185

5,693
224
5,469
190
1,989
29
3,261

4,128
275
3,853
137
775
32
2,909

5,549
266
5,283
153
1,229
37
3,864

7,695
386
7,309
116
2,374
24
4,795

9,119
445
8,674
110
2,935
35
5,594

9,275
637
8,638
161
2,199
12
6,266

223

228

284

511

665

368

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense investigated is based on the decision of the assistant
U.S. attorney responsible for the matter. Number of suspects includes defendants
in misdemeanor cases which were terminated in U.S. district court before a U.S.
magistrate.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent
offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Table A.6. Suspects in criminal matters concluded by U.S. attorneys: Number declined prosecution, by offense,
1994-2000
Most serious offense investigated
b

All offenses

1994
34,424

1995
35,896

1996
32,832

1997
29,069

1998
28,786

1999a
31,004

2000a
30,444

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

1,819

1,881

2,028

2,065

2,266

1,996

1,909

15,291
13,819
1,472

15,927
14,260
1,667

13,997
12,446
1,551

12,170
10,859
1,311

10,937
9,653
1,284

11,961
10,578
1,383

11,060
9,830
1,230

6,449

7,360

6,898

5,769

6,164

6,261

6,126

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

10,571
3,495
7,076
1,982
293
502
4,299

10,359
3,531
6,828
1,784
366
419
4,259

9,460
3,172
6,288
1,601
324
509
3,854

8,589
2,984
5,605
1,301
302
415
3,587

9,173
3,470
5,703
1,279
370
339
3,715

10,488
3,605
6,883
1,660
472
421
4,330

11,122
3,341
7,781
2,566
497
302
4,416

294

369

449

476

246

298

227

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense investigated is based on the decision of the assistant
U.S. attorney responsible for the matter. Number of suspects includes suspects
whose matters were declined for prosecution by U.S. attorneys upon review.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent
offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes suspects whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Appendix

Table A.7. Defendants in cases proceeded against in U.S. district courts, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense charged
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
62,327

1995
63,547

1996
65,480

1997
69,351

1998
78,172

1999a
80,031

2000a
83,251

47,341

50,483

52,656

57,022

64,769

67,442

71,072

3,222

2,838

3,457

3,603

3,763

2,976

3,135

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

13,155
10,301
2,854

13,837
10,909
2,928

14,130
11,525
2,605

13,890
11,371
2,519

14,955
12,401
2,554

14,779
12,028
2,751

15,237
12,659
2,578

20,275
20,052
223

20,983
20,191
792

21,677
20,522
1,155

24,693
23,403
1,290

28,021
26,318
1,703

29,306
27,296
2,010

29,455
27,734
1,721

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

10,689
1,256
9,433
3,557
2,453
787
2,636

12,825
1,265
11,560
4,212
3,866
760
2,722

13,392
1,123
12,269
3,651
5,390
707
2,521

14,836
1,117
13,719
3,837
6,726
788
2,368

18,030
1,359
16,671
4,287
9,254
673
2,457

20,381
1,245
19,136
4,924
10,550
661
3,001

23,245
1,264
21,981
6,073
12,036
573
3,299

14,980

13,036

12,774

12,267

13,254

12,474

12,104

149

115

Misdemeanorsc
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense charged is based on the offense carrying the most
severe statutory maximum penalty.
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses” to
“Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes defendants whose offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense
category.
a

Table A.8. Defendants in cases terminating in U.S. district courts, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense charged
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
61,404

1995
56,480

1996
61,434

1997
64,956

1998
69,769

1999a
75,723

2000a
76,952

47,292

44,462

49,283

53,097

56,160

62,839

65,656

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

3,227

2,864

3,091

3,241

3,418

3,093

2,964

13,182
10,193
2,989

12,426
9,817
2,609

12,816
10,260
2,556

13,725
11,152
2,573

13,215
10,854
2,361

14,055
11,587
2,468

14,080
11,590
2,490

20,219
20,056
163

18,189
17,823
366

20,305
19,486
819

22,374
21,379
995

23,432
21,867
1,565

27,008
25,334
1,674

27,274
25,579
1,695

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

10,664
1,383
9,281
3,673
2,371
741
2,496

10,983
1,181
9,802
3,674
3,211
680
2,237

13,071
1,151
11,920
3,843
5,111
687
2,279

13,757
1,069
12,688
3,485
6,165
727
2,311

16,095
1,353
14,742
3,650
7,985
795
2,312

18,683
1,306
17,377
4,087
9,759
635
2,896

21,338
1,229
20,109
5,049
11,599
626
2,835

14,111

11,989

12,115

11,795

13,503

12,793

11,214

106

Misdemeanorsc
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense charged is based on the offense carrying the most
severe statutory maximum penalty.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses” to
“Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes defendants whose offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense
category.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table A.9. Defendants in cases terminating in U.S. district courts: Percent convicted, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense charged
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
82.6%

1995
84.2%

1996
86.4%

1997
87.1%

1998
87.4%

1999a
87.2%

2000a
88.6%

86.2

86.6

89.0

89.8

89.9

90.5

91.5

87.9

88.7

88.1

89.9

90.1

89.9

90.3

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

87.3
87.7
85.9

87.5
88.0
85.6

89.5
89.6
89.5

89.7
89.8
89.3

89.8
89.8
89.4

90.4
90.6
89.9

91.0
91.0
90.9

85.9
86.0
78.5

85.6
85.5
88.3

88.3
88.3
88.2

89.3
89.3
89.0

89.1
88.8
92.7

89.9
89.8
91.2

91.2
91.3
90.7

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

84.9
81.3
85.5
85.2
92.2
92.2
77.5

86.8
79.8
87.7
84.8
93.6
90.7
82.8

89.9
82.5
90.6
87.5
96.1
91.0
83.5

90.8
85.7
91.2
87.6
95.9
93.7
83.5

91.3
87.7
91.6
86.6
94.8
94.6
87.3

91.5
83.7
92.1
88.6
95.4
95.7
85.2

92.2
86.6
92.6
88.4
95.9
95.8
85.7

70.4

75.2

75.6

74.8

76.8

71.2

71.6

—

86.2

80.6

82.8

84.0

82.4

87.8

Misdemeanorsc
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense charged is based on the offense carrying the most
severe statutory maximum penalty.
—Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses” to
“Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes defendants whose offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense
category.

Table A.10. Offenders convicted and sentenced in U.S. district courts, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense of conviction
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
50,701

1995
47,556

1996
53,076

1997
56,570

1998
60,958

1999a
66,055

2000a
68,156

39,624

37,713

42,992

46,878

50,494

55,864

59,123

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

2,704

2,423

2,660

2,876

3,078

2,715

2,557

11,113
8,671
2,442

10,569
8,484
2,085

11,125
9,055
2,070

12,010
9,919
2,091

11,862
9,752
2,110

12,232
10,203
2,029

12,454
10,396
2,058

16,400
16,197
203

14,778
14,322
456

17,365
16,485
880

19,115
18,057
1,058

20,867
19,417
1,450

23,476
21,698
1,778

24,206
22,275
1,931

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

9,407
1,309
8,098
3,232
2,152
712
2,002

9,943
1,177
8,766
3,062
3,045
659
2,000

11,842
1,169
10,673
3,033
4,929
655
2,056

12,877
1,211
11,666
2,871
6,044
715
2,036

14,687
1,187
13,500
3,160
7,569
752
2,019

17,441
1,410
16,031
3,423
9,357
653
2,598

19,906
1,376
18,530
4,196
11,125
655
2,554

11,072

9,818

10,054

9,636

10,375

10,118

8,961

Misdemeanorsc
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense is based on the disposition offense with the most severe
sentence.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses”
to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined or whose
sentence was unknown. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories
within each major offense category.

c
In this table, “Violent offenses” may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
“Fraudulent property” excludes tax fraud; “Other nonfraudulent property”
excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; “Tax law violation” includes tax fraud; and "Misdemeanors" include
misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.

Appendix

Table A.11. Offenders convicted and sentenced in U.S. district courts: Number sentenced to prison, by offense,
1994-2000
Most serious offense of conviction
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
33,022

1995
31,805

1996
36,373

1997
39,431

1998
43,041

1999a
47,659

2000a
50,451

31,070

29,759

34,345

37,747

41,420

46,070

49,070

2,518

2,209

2,419

2,619

2,808

2,489

2,360

7,204
6,067
1,137

7,462
6,272
1,190

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

6,411
4,868
1,543

6,215
4,928
1,287

6,559
5,322
1,237

7,110
5,871
1,239

7,114
5,860
1,254

14,973
14,841
132

13,502
13,133
369

15,984
15,248
736

17,637
16,718
919

19,280
18,013
1,267

21,694
20,117
1,577

22,352
20,633
1,719

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

7,168
644
6,524
2,901
1,857
314
1,452

7,833
572
7,261
2,803
2,751
265
1,442

9,383
540
8,843
2,773
4,183
311
1,576

10,381
603
9,778
2,663
5,262
317
1,536

12,218
506
11,712
2,914
6,880
376
1,542

14,683
627
14,056
3,191
8,427
344
2,094

16,896
647
16,249
3,834
10,073
355
1,987

1,948

2,039

2,020

1,679

1,590

1,556

1,356

Misdemeanorsc

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense of conviction is based on the disposition
offense with the most severe sentence. Number of offenders includes
offenders given life and death sentences, and includes new law offenders given prison-community split sentences (prison and conditions of
alternative community confinement). Number of offenders also includes offenders given mixed sentences of prison plus probation, applicable only to offenders sentenced pursuant to laws applicable prior to
the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from
“Violent offenses” to “Public-order offenses.”

Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined or whose sentence was
unknown. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major
offense category.
c
In this table, “Violent offenses” may include nonnegligent manslaughter; “Fraudulent
property” excludes tax fraud; “Other nonfraudulent property” excludes fraudulent property and
includes destruction of property and trespassing; “Tax law violation” includes tax fraud; and
"Misdemeanors" include misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.

Table A.12. Criminal appeals filed, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious underlying offense of conviction
b

All offenses

1994
10,674

1995
10,162

1996
10,889

1997
10,521

1998
10,535

1999a
10,251

2000a
9,162

Violent offensesc
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses

856

700

685

739

742

559

490

1,949
1,410
539

1,767
1,323
444

2,093
1,581
512

1,972
1,519
453

1,947
1,439
508

1,739
1,338
401

1,482
1,164
318

5,102

4,499

5,099

4,750

4,845

4,513

3,843

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

2,439
288
2,151
1,141
261
146
603

2,197
220
1,977
1,034
277
103
563

2,521
196
2,325
1,183
353
140
649

2,602
224
2,378
1,135
417
150
676

2,553
178
2,375
982
693
122
578

2,958
162
2,796
1,070
934
91
701

2,878
150
2,728
872
1,179
85
592

328

999

491

458

448

482

469

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Appeals were classified into the offense category that represents the underlying
offense of conviction. Offenses represent the statutory offense charged against a defendant in a criminal appeal.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses”
to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Table A.13. Offenders convicted and sentenced in U.S. district courts: Number sentenced to probation only,
by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense of conviction
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
12,781

1995
11,602

1996
11,789

1997
12,046

1998
12,108

1999a
12,408

2000a
11,937

7,677

7,030

7,138

7,387

7,208

7,491

7,477

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

164

198

209

223

235

182

149

4,327
3,477
850

3,987
3,217
770

4,035
3,238
797

4,275
3,475
800

4,044
3,249
795

4,171
3,340
831

4,166
3,372
794

1,204
1,139
65

992
926
66

1,011
888
123

1,054
940
114

1,092
952
140

1,134
981
153

1,130
971
159

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

1,982
575
1,407
296
217
388
506

1,853
531
1,322
221
204
386
511

1,883
542
1,341
229
376
338
398

1,835
522
1,313
182
310
379
442

1,837
582
1,255
208
769
359
410

2,004
665
1,339
190
409
299
441

2,032
619
1,413
297
362
283
471

5,103

4,556

4,631

4,612

4,844

4,879

4,416

Misdemeanorsc
Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense of conviction is based on the disposition offense with the
most severe sentence. Number of offenders includes offenders given probation plus
conditions of confinement, such as home confinement or intermittent confinement.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses”
to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined or whose
sentence was unknown. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories
within each major offense category.

Table A.14. Offenders convicted and sentenced in U.S. district courts: Mean number of months of imprisonment
imposed, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense of conviction
b

All offenses
Felonies

1994
62.6 mo

1995
63.3 mo

1996
61.7 mo

1997
59.3 mo

1998
58.9 mo

1999a
58.1 mo

2000a
56.8 mo

65.6

66.8

64.6

61.5

60.6

59.6

58.0

92.3

98.5

92.7

86.1

84.4

88.1

86.6

Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulentc
Otherc
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

26.4
20.0
46.2

27.3
21.9
47.5

24.1
21.1
37.0

24.4
22.1
35.2

25.6
22.4
40.4

24.1
22.4
33.0

24.3
22.5
33.4

83.9
84.0
46.0

87.1
88.0
66.0

84.8
85.0
77.0

81.1
81.3
77.7

78.7
78.3
84.3

75.4
74.8
83.4

75.6
75.2
81.1

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationc
Other

52.0
32.2
54.0
83.0
23.0
16.0
42.0

53.6
27.8
55.6
95.0
24.0
19.0
43.0

51.2
26.7
52.7
100.0
23.0
32.0
51.0

47.6
26.5
48.9
102.1
23.0
21.3
51.5

47.3
27.8
48.1
101.3
26.4
18.2
54.4

48.7
26.3
49.7
99.5
30.7
20.1
57.6

45.8
28.0
46.5
92.2
29.5
18.3
51.5

Misdemeanorsc

12.3

9.8

11.1

10.0

11.6

10.8

10.3

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

64.0

71.4

23.0

30.2

33.8

62.2

83.7

Note: Most serious offense of conviction is based on the disposition offense with the
most severe sentence. Calculations for imprisonment length exclude offenders given
life or death sentences. For new law offenders given prison-community split sentences, imprisonment length includes prison sentences only.
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses” to
“Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined or whose
sentence was unknown. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories
within each major offense category.

Appendix

Table A.15. Offenders under Federal supervision, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious offense of conviction
b

All offenses
Feloniesc

1994
87,689

1995
85,662

1996
88,189

1997
90,751

1998
92,813

1999a
96,502

2000a
99,500

74,597

74,260

76,851

79,804

81,828

85,759

89,048

4,873

4,753

5,036

5,270

5,577

5,439

5,807

Violent offensesd
Property offenses
Fraudulentd
Otherd
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

28,525
22,609
5,916

27,512
21,989
5,523

27,208
22,034
5,174

27,585
22,621
4,964

27,519
22,678
4,841

28,262
23,381
4,881

28,771
23,904
4,867

28,238
26,841
1,397

29,343
26,865
2,478

31,859
28,517
3,342

33,743
29,942
3,801

35,402
31,416
3,986

37,929
33,774
4,155

39,700
35,437
4,263

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violationd
Other

12,891
2,275
10,616
3,924
1,083
2,184
3,425

12,534
2,192
10,342
3,731
959
2,129
3,523

12,590
2,104
10,486
3,832
1,180
1,978
3,496

12,942
2,187
10,755
3,908
1,405
1,890
3,552

13,066
2,196
10,870
4,038
1,272
1,859
5,356

13,840
2,331
11,509
4,123
1,334
1,733
4,319

14,558
2,417
12,141
4,522
1,537
1,589
4,493

13,092

11,402

11,338

10,947

10,985

10,743

10,452

Misdemeanorsd

Note: Most serious offense of conviction is based on the offense with the longest sentence imposed. Number of offenders includes offenders under active supervision at the
close of the fiscal year. This population includes offenders under the three major forms
of supervision: probation, supervised release, and parole. Included under parole are
two less common types of old law release: mandatory release and special parole. Excluded from the number of offenders under active supervision reported in the table are
offenders released to military parole and offenders under community supervision prior
to sentencing (such as during pretrial release or pretrial investigation).
a
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses”
to “Public-order offenses.”
b
Includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined. See Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major offense category.

Includes offenders whose felony offense category could not be determined.
A felony offense category could not be determined for 70 offenders during
1994, 118 during 1995, 158 during 1996, 264 during 1997, 264 during 1998,
289 during 1999, and 212 during 2000.
d
In this table, “Violent offenses” may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
“Fraudulent property” excludes tax fraud; “Other nonfraudulent property”
excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; “Tax law violation” includes tax fraud; and "Misdemeanors" include
misdemeanors, petty offenses, and unknown offense levels.

Table A.16. Population at the end of the year in Federal prisons, by offense, 1994-2000
Most serious original offense of conviction
d

All offenses

1994
84,362

1995
88,658

1996
92,672

1997
98,944

1998a
108,925

1999b
119,185

2000b, c
129,329

11,179

Violent offensese
Property offenses
Fraudulente
Othere
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession and other

11,409

11,523

11,658

12,656

13,355

12,973

7,888
5,725
2,163

7,842
5,823
2,019

7,781
5,807
1,974

8,151
6,148
2,003

8,627
6,465
2,162

8,682
6,553
2,129

9,849
7,497
2,352

50,579
50,197
382

52,782
52,401
381

55,194
54,870
324

58,610
58,201
409

63,011
62,564
447

68,360
67,835
525

73,389
72,775
614

Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons
Immigration
Tax law violatione
Other

13,776
878
12,898
6,774
2,486
364
3,274

15,655
894
14,761
7,446
3,420
364
3,531

17,227
919
16,308
7,696
4,476
347
3,789

19,197
1,013
18,184
8,082
5,454
358
4,290

22,273
1,059
21,214
8,742
7,430
376
4,666

26,456
1,048
25,408
9,494
10,156
330
5,428

31,855
1,205
30,650
10,652
13,676
486
5,836

940

970

947

1,328

2,358

2,332

1,263

Unknown or indeterminable offenses

Note: Most serious offense is based on the offense having the longest sentence.
a
The yearend population for 1998 was adjusted to reflect an additional 1,013 prisoners reported in the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1998.
b
Starting in 1999, nonviolent sex offenses were reclassified from “Violent offenses”
to “Public-order offenses.”
c
Starting in 2000, the universe for includes offenders in BOP custody and offenders
in contract and private facilities, but not those committed for violations of the District
of Columbia criminal code. See Methodology for more information.

Federal Criminal Case Processing, 2000

Includes prisoners whose offense category could not be determined. See
Methodology for a listing of detailed offense categories within each major
offense category.
e
In this table, “Violent offenses” may include nonnegligent manslaughter;
“Fraudulent property” excludes tax fraud; “Other nonfraudulent property”
excludes fraudulent property and includes destruction of property and trespassing; and “Tax law violation” includes tax fraud.

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Prisoners under sentence of death
2,000

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White

Black

Othe

1968

243

271

1969

263

310

1970

293

335

1971

306

332

1972

167

166

1,000
Black
Other
0

1970

1980

1990

1998

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