Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jun 2000
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle
Contact:  Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260
Fax: (713) 220-3575
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: Associated Press

REPORT: ALMOST 90% OF FEDERAL DEFENDANTS ARE CONVICTED

1998 Study Shows Three Out Of Four Offenders Get Sentenced To Prison

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eighty-seven percent of defendants charged with federal 
crimes were convicted in fiscal 1998 and almost three out of four people 
convicted were sentenced to prison, the Justice Department reported Wednesday.

Nearly half of the 106,139 federal arrests during the 12 months that ended 
Sept. 30, 1998, charged drug or immigration violations, according to the 
first comprehensive study of federal arrest data by the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics.

Drug violations accounted for 29 percent of the arrests and immigration 
offenses for 20 percent.

Seventy-one percent of those convicted were sentenced to prison, up from 60 
percent of those convicted in 1990. Offenders convicted of violent felonies 
were sentenced to an average of 84.2 months in prison during 1998; felony 
drug offenders to 78.8 months; immigration offenders to 26.4 months and 
property offenders to 25.4 months.

In 1998, the time actually served reached 87 percent of the sentence, up 
from 65 percent in 1990.

The number of defendants prosecuted rose to 78,172 in 1998, up 12.7 percent 
from the 1997 total. Drug cases accounted for 38 percent of the increase; 
immigration cases for 29 percent of it.

Eighty-three percent of federal defendants were charged with felonies. More 
serious than misdemeanors, felonies carry a maximum penalty of more than 
one year in prison.

Pretrial release also showed a decline -- to 43 percent of those charged in 
1998, down from 62 percent in 1990. Those least likely to be released were 
charged with immigration offenses, violent crimes, drug or weapons violations.

Of those released awaiting trial, 84 percent completed their release 
without incident, but 3 percent committed new crimes, 2 percent failed to 
make scheduled court appearances and 14.5 percent committed technical 
violations of release conditions, like failure to participate in substance 
abuse treatment.

The total exceeds 100 percent because some defendants fit more than one 
category.

Appeals to U.S. Courts of Appeals remained constant at 10,000 to 11,000 a 
year between 1990 and 1998. Of the 10,105 appeals completed in 1998, 82 
percent upheld the district court ruling, at least in part.

The federal prison population topped 100,000 in 1998 for the first time, up 
9,670 from 1997 to 108,925.

Of the 106,139 federal arrests during 1998, 73 percent were made by Justice 
Department agencies -- the FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 
Drug Enforcement Administration, and Marshals Service.

Treasury Department agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and 
Firearms, Customs Service and Secret Service, made 11 percent of the arrests.

The rest were by other agencies, including the U.S. Postal Service, and the 
Defense, Interior and Agriculture departments.
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