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Drug War Drives Federal Criminal Court Cases,
No Let-Up Last
Year
While there are increasing signs that the various states are
rethinking the drug war approach to drug policy, the federal drug
war juggernaut continues rolling. According to a report released
this week by the Administrative Office of the US Courts, the
administrative arm of the federal judiciary, drug defendants are
by far the largest single category of persons facing criminal
trials in the federal courts. Of the 82,000 defendants whose
federal criminal cases commenced in the fiscal year ending last
September 30, more than 31,000, or 38%, were drug offenders.
The report, "Judicial Business of the United States Courts 2001"
(see below for link to this report) notes that new
federal criminal cases in the last fiscal year remaining almost
unchanged from the year before -- a decline of 37 cases -- but
that drug case filings had increased by 5% over the previous year.
A review of selected categories of federal criminal defendants in
the last fiscal year included the following:
Gambling: 14
Burglary: 76
Civil rights violations: 127
Bribery: 160
Kidnapping: 189
Auto theft: 306
Homicide: 419
National defense violations: 490
Sex offenses: 1,010
Embezzlement: 1,284
Robbery: 1,613
Forgery: 1,818
Larceny and theft: 3,867
Weapons and firearms: 6,223
Fraud: 10,532
Immigration violations: 12,086
Drug offenses: 31,493
Clearly, federal drug law enforcement dominates national-level law
enforcement. Drug offenders constituted two and one-half times
the number of defendants in the next largest category, immigration
offenses, and five times the number of defendants charged with
federal firearms violations. And the number of drug defendants
absolutely dwarfed the number of people accused of crimes
traditionally considered to be the bailiwick of federal law
enforcement: kidnapping, bank robbery, forgery (counterfeiting)
and embezzlement. The number of drug defendants is more than ten
times the number of white collar crime defendants (3,102 for
forgery and embezzlement combined).
When many people think of federal law enforcement, they conjure up
images of G-Men chasing down John Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde,
but the reality is far different. Bank robbers and kidnappers
accounted for only 1,755 of the federal criminal defendants last
fiscal year. For every classic "gangster" the feds dragged into
court, almost 20 drug defendants were prosecuted.
The Administrative Office also noted that in FY 2001, more than
90% of drug defendants either pled guilty or were convicted. Of
the more than 28,000 federal drug cases ended in the last fiscal
year, only 2,423 of them ended in acquittals.
Also, the report noted, some 44,000 thousand drug law violators
were under federal supervision on September 30, the vast bulk of
them in federal prisons. Drug law violators make up more than 42%
of the 104,000 persons under federal control.
While there are increasing signs that the various states are
rethinking the drug war approach to drug policy, the federal drug
war juggernaut continues rolling. According to a report released
this week by the Administrative Office of the US Courts, the
administrative arm of the federal judiciary, drug defendants are
by far the largest single category of persons facing criminal
trials in the federal courts. Of the 82,000 defendants whose
federal criminal cases commenced in the fiscal year ending last
September 30, more than 31,000, or 38%, were drug offenders.
The report, "Judicial Business of the United States Courts 2001"
(see below for link to this report) notes that new
federal criminal cases in the last fiscal year remaining almost
unchanged from the year before -- a decline of 37 cases -- but
that drug case filings had increased by 5% over the previous year.
A review of selected categories of federal criminal defendants in
the last fiscal year included the following:
Gambling: 14
Burglary: 76
Civil rights violations: 127
Bribery: 160
Kidnapping: 189
Auto theft: 306
Homicide: 419
National defense violations: 490
Sex offenses: 1,010
Embezzlement: 1,284
Robbery: 1,613
Forgery: 1,818
Larceny and theft: 3,867
Weapons and firearms: 6,223
Fraud: 10,532
Immigration violations: 12,086
Drug offenses: 31,493
Clearly, federal drug law enforcement dominates national-level law
enforcement. Drug offenders constituted two and one-half times
the number of defendants in the next largest category, immigration
offenses, and five times the number of defendants charged with
federal firearms violations. And the number of drug defendants
absolutely dwarfed the number of people accused of crimes
traditionally considered to be the bailiwick of federal law
enforcement: kidnapping, bank robbery, forgery (counterfeiting)
and embezzlement. The number of drug defendants is more than ten
times the number of white collar crime defendants (3,102 for
forgery and embezzlement combined).
When many people think of federal law enforcement, they conjure up
images of G-Men chasing down John Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde,
but the reality is far different. Bank robbers and kidnappers
accounted for only 1,755 of the federal criminal defendants last
fiscal year. For every classic "gangster" the feds dragged into
court, almost 20 drug defendants were prosecuted.
The Administrative Office also noted that in FY 2001, more than
90% of drug defendants either pled guilty or were convicted. Of
the more than 28,000 federal drug cases ended in the last fiscal
year, only 2,423 of them ended in acquittals.
Also, the report noted, some 44,000 thousand drug law violators
were under federal supervision on September 30, the vast bulk of
them in federal prisons. Drug law violators make up more than 42%
of the 104,000 persons under federal control.