U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available on BJS website at: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4845 This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=27 ------------------------------------------------------- ******************* Statistical Table ******************* State Court Processing Statistics Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2009 - Statistical Tables Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., BJS Statistician Between 1990 and 2009, the average age of persons convicted of felonies in the 75 largest counties in the United States increased from 28 to 32 years. About 27% of convicted felons in 2009 were age 40 or older, compared to 10% in 1990 (figure 1). As the average age of convicted felons increased between 1990 and 2009, the severity of the criminal histories of these older offenders also increased. In 2009, about two-thirds (68%) of convicted felons age 40 or older had at least one prior felony conviction, compared to less than half (45%) in 1990 (figure 2). Defendants age 40 or older were the only age group with an increase in the probability of incarceration for a felony conviction between 1990 (71%) and 2009 (77%) (not shown in figure). Due to the increased percentage of older offenders in felony courts and their greater likelihood of incarceration, 27% of those sentenced to incarceration after a felony conviction in 2009 were age 40 or older, compared to 9% in 1990 (figure 3). By 2009, 34% of state prison inmates were age 40 or older, compared to 18% in 1990. In addition to these age-related trends, from 1990 to 2009-- * The percentage of defendants charged with a public- order offense increased from 7% to 13%, while the percentage of property defendants dropped from 34% to 29%. * The percentage of female defendants rose from 14% to 17%. * The percentage of pretrial releases that included financial conditions climbed from 37% to 61%, including an increase from 24% to 49% in the use of surety bonds. The findings in this report are based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program. The SCPS program periodically tracks a sample of felony cases filed in the nation’s 75 most populous counties. Data are collected on arrest charges, demographic characteristics, criminal histories, pretrial processing, adjudication, and sentencing. This report presents findings from the SCPS data collection that tracked cases filed in May 2009. In addition to the 2009 results, selected trends observed since 1990 are also presented. *************************** Section 1: Arrest charges *************************** * About 56,000 felony cases were filed in the 75 largest counties during May 2009. Drug defendants (33%) represented the largest category of felony defendants, followed by those charged with a property offense (29%) or a violent offense (25%) (table 1). * By specific offense, 18% of defendants were charged with nontrafficking drug offenses and 15% with drug trafficking. The next most frequent case types were assault (12%), burglary (9%), larceny/theft (8%), and robbery (7%) (figure 4). * The majority (55%) of felony defendants faced at least one additional charge. About 40% were charged with at least one additional felony, and 15% were charged with a misdemeanor in addition to the primary felony charge (table 2). * The majority of the defendants whose most serious arrest charge was rape (65%), murder (60%), burglary (56%), drug trafficking (55%), or robbery (54%) were charged with one or more additional felonies. * Between 1990 and 2009, more than 3 in 5 felony defendants were charged with either a drug offense or property offense, and about 1 in 4 was charged with a violent offense (figure 5). * The percentage of defendants charged with a property offense declined from 34% in 1990 to 29% in 2009. The percentage of defendants charged with a public-order offense rose from 7% in 1990 to 13% in 2009. * The percentage of defendants charged with a violent offense in 2009 (25%) approached that observed in 1990 (27%) after dropping to a low of 23% in 2004 and 2005. * Drug defendants represented 33% of felony cases in both 1990 and 2009, but they accounted for 37% of cases between 1996 and 2006. ************************************************ ******************************** List of tables and figures – Arrest charges ******************************** TABLE 1. Felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 4. Most frequently charged offenses of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 2009 FIGURE 5. Most serious arrest charge category for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 TABLE 2. Level of second most serious charge for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 ************************************************ ******************************************* Section 2: Demographic characteristics ******************************************* * In 2009, the overall average age at arrest for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties was 32 (table 3). This was four years older than the average age of 28 observed in 1990. * The average age at arrest for defendants charged with robbery in 2009 was 25, the youngest average age for any charged offense. Nearly half (46%) of robbery defendants were age 20 or younger, compared to 18% of defendants overall. Fifteen percent of robbery defendants were age 17 or younger, compared to 3% of defendants overall. * Defendants charged with a driving-related offense had the oldest average age at arrest (37). Thirty-nine percent of defendants charged with a driving-related offense were age 40 or older, compared to 25% of defendants overall. * The proportion of defendants age 40 or older has increased from about 1 in 10 in 1990 to about 1 in 4 since 2004. Since 1996, just over 3 in 10 defendants have been age 24 or younger, a smaller proportion than in 1990 and 1992, when about 4 in 10 defendants were in this age category (figure 6). * An estimated 17% of defendants were female in 2009. This was a slight increase compared to 1990, when females represented 14% of defendants (table 4). * In 2009, the most frequently charged offenses among female felony defendants were fraud (37%), forgery (34%), and larceny/theft (31%). Female felony defendants were least often charged with a weapons- related offense (4%). * Nearly half (45%) of all defendants were non-Hispanic blacks in 2009. The highest percentages of black defendants were among those charged with robbery (62%), a weapons offense (61%), or murder (57%). The lowest percentages were among those charged with a driving- related offense (28%) or fraud (32%) (table 5). * Nearly a third of all defendants were non-Hispanic whites (30%). More than a third of the defendants charged with a driving-related offense (39%) or larceny/theft (37%) were white. About a quarter (24%) of all defendants were Hispanic, including nearly a third of defendants charged with a driving-related offense (31%), motor vehicle theft (30%), or murder (30%). * Black males accounted for more than half (55%) of defendants age 17 or younger. Among defendants age 40 or older, 37% were black males, 28% were white males, and 16% were Hispanic males (figure 7). ******************************* List of tables and figures – Demographic characteristics ******************************* ************************************************ TABLE 3. Age at arrest of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 6. Age at arrest of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 TABLE 4. Sex of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 5. Race and Hispanic or Latino origin of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 7. Race and Hispanic or Latino origin and sex of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by age at arrest, 2009 ************************************************ ******************************* Section 3: Criminal history ******************************* ************************************************ * In 2009, 13% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were on probation at the time of arrest, down from a peak of 18% in 1990. Defendants charged with motor vehicle theft (18%) or burglary (17%) were the most likely to have been on probation when arrested on the current felony charge (table 6). * About 5% of defendants were on parole at the time of arrest in 2009, compared to 8% in years prior to 1996. In 2009, an estimated 8% of those charged with a weapons offense and 7% of those charged with rape were parolees at the time of arrest. * About 3 in 4 defendants had been arrested at least once prior to the arrest on the current felony charge. Nearly all of the defendants with an arrest record had multiple prior arrest charges. About half (51%) of all defendants had five or more prior arrest charges, and more than a third (36%) had 10 or more (table 7). * Defendants whose most serious current arrest charge was a driving-related offense (88%) were the most likely to have been arrested previously. Those charged with fraud (60%) were the least likely to have one or more prior arrests. * Defendants charged with motor vehicle theft (42%), drug trafficking (42%), other drug offense (41%), or a driving-related offense (41%) were the most likely to have 10 or more prior arrest charges. Those charged with rape (22%) were the least likely to have a prior arrest. * In 2009, 61% of defendants age 17 or younger had no prior arrests, down from a high of 75% in 1994. In 2009, the majority of defendants age 25 or older had five or more prior arrest charges (figure 8). * About 3 in 5 defendants had been arrested previously on a felony charge. Drug (69%) and public-order (66%) defendants were more likely to have a prior felony arrest than those charged with a property (59%) or violent (55%) offense (table 8). * Among property defendants, those charged with burglary (66%) or motor vehicle theft (66%) were the most likely to have been previously arrested for a felony. Those charged with fraud (48%) were the least likely to have a felony arrest record. * An estimated 17% of all defendants had 10 or more prior felony arrest charges, including 27% of those charged with motor vehicle theft. Rape (10%) and fraud (11%) defendants were the least likely to have 10 or more prior felony charges. * Between 1990 and 2009, the percentage of defendants with at least one prior arrest increased from 68% to 75%. The proportion of defendants with multiple prior arrests rose from 59% to 68% during this period. The percentage of defendants who had 10 or more prior arrests increased from an estimated 22% in 1990 to 36% in 2009 (figure 9). * The percentage of defendants with a felony arrest record increased from about 55% prior to 1996 to more than 60% since 2002. The percentage with multiple prior felony arrests rose from 43% to 52% during the same period. The percentage with 10 or more prior felony arrests nearly doubled during this time, from 9% in 1990 to 17% in 2009. * About 3 in 5 defendants had at least one prior conviction. The percentage of defendants with one or more prior convictions was highest among those charged with a driving-related offense (76%) and lowest among those charged with fraud (43%) (table 9). * An estimated 14% of all defendants had 10 or more prior convictions, including 17% of those charged with larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, or drug trafficking. * An estimated 43% of defendants had at least one prior felony conviction. About half of those charged with a drug offense (50%), a weapons offense (49%), or motor vehicle theft (48%) had a felony conviction record. Fraud defendants (30%) were the least likely to have a prior felony conviction (table 10). * Overall, 30% of defendants had multiple prior felony convictions, and 11% had five or more. An estimated 17% of defendants charged with motor vehicle theft and 15% of drug defendants had at least five prior felony convictions. * For 13% of defendants in 2009, the most serious prior conviction was a violent felony. Fraud defendants (5%) were the least likely to have a prior conviction for a violent felony in 2009 (table 11). * An estimated 17% of defendants in 2009 had a prior conviction record that consisted of only misdemeanors. About a third of defendants charged with a driving- related offense (33%) were in this category. * Most defendants age 17 or younger (86%) or ages 18 to 20 (64%) had no prior convictions of any type. Among defendants age 25 or older, about a third had no prior convictions, and about half had a felony conviction record (figure 10). * Between 1990 and 2009, the percentage of defendants with at least one prior conviction increased from 53% to 60%. The percentage of defendants with multiple prior convictions rose from 40% to 49% during this period (figure 11). * The percentage of defendants with a felony conviction record increased from 36% in 1990 to 43% in 2009. The percentage with multiple prior felony convictions rose from 21% to 31% during the same period. ************************************************ ******************************* List of tables and figures – Criminal history ******************************* TABLE 6. Felony defendants on probation or parole at time of arrest in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 7. Number of prior arrest charges for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 8. Number of prior arrest charges for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by age at arrest, 2009 TABLE 8. Number of prior felony arrest charges for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 9. Prior arrest record for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 TABLE 9. Number of prior convictions for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 10. Number of prior felony convictions for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 11. Most serious prior conviction for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious current arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 10. Most serious prior conviction for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by age at arrest, 2009 FIGURE 11. Prior conviction record for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 ************************************************ ****************************************** Section 4: Pretrial release and detention ****************************************** ************************************************ * In 2009, 62% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were released prior to case disposition (table 12). With the exception of 2004 (57%) and 2006 (58%), the percentage of defendants released has been in the 62% to 64% range in each SCPS study year. * An estimated 38% of defendants were detained until case disposition in 2009. About 1 in 10 detained defendants (4% of defendants overall) was denied bail. Nearly half (45%) of murder defendants were denied bail, compared to 8% or less of defendants charged with other offenses. * Defendants charged with a drug (65%), property (63%), or public-order (63%) offense in 2009 were more likely to be released prior to case disposition than defendants charged with a violent offense (55%). * The release rate for defendants charged with a violent offense ranged from 18% for murder defendants to 63% for assault defendants. Roughly half of robbery (44%) and rape (52%) defendants were released prior to case disposition. * Among property defendants, 49% of those charged with motor vehicle theft or burglary were released prior to case disposition. Considerably higher percentages of defendants charged with fraud (80%), forgery (71%), or larceny/theft (68%) were released. * Defendants without a criminal justice status (68%) were much more likely to be released than defendants on probation (44%) or parole (31%). Likewise, defendants without a prior conviction (75%) were much more likely to be released than those with 10 or more prior convictions (41%) (table 13). * About half of released defendants were out of custody within 1 day of arrest and three-quarters were released within a week. Overall, 89% of releases occurred within 1 month of arrest; however, 41% of the releases of murder defendants occurred within 1 month (table 14). * About 3 in 5 pretrial releases in 2009 included financial conditions. About 4 in 5 financial releases, and about half (49%) of all releases, used private surety bonds, which was the most common method of pretrial release in 2009. Other types of financial release included deposit bond (7% of all releases) and full cash bond (5% of all releases) (figure 12). * About 2 in 5 pretrial releases were nonfinancial and did not require the posting of any type of financial bond. The most common type of nonfinancial release used in 2009 was release on recognizance (23% of all releases), followed by conditional release (10% of all releases) and unsecured bond (5% of all releases). * About 9 in 10 detained defendants had a bail amount set but were unable to meet the financial conditions required to secure release. Those with a bail amount set under $5,000 (71%) were nearly 3 times as likely to secure release as defendants with a bail amount of $50,000 or more (27%) (figure 13). * For nearly half of forgery defendants (46%) and larceny/theft defendants (44%) with a set bail, the amount was less than $5,000. Nearly all murder defendants (95%) and more than half of rape (59%) and robbery (52%) defendants with a bail amount had it set at $50,000 or more (table 15). * Overall, detained defendants had a median bail amount of $25,000, compared to $6,000 for released defendants. Detained murder defendants had the highest median bail amount ($1,000,000), followed by detained rape defendants ($100,000) (table 16). * Between 1990 and 2009, the percentage of pretrial releases involving financial conditions rose from 37% to 61%. Nearly all of this increase was due to a rise in the use of surety bonds, which accounted for nearly twice the percentage of releases in 2009 (49%) as in 1990 (24%) (figure 14). * Among defendants who were released prior to case disposition, about 3 in 10 (29%) committed some type of misconduct while in a release status (table 17). This a similar proportion to that recorded in previous SCPS studies. * The percentage of defendants charged with pretrial misconduct was highest for drug (32%) and property (31%) defendants, and lowest for those released after being charged with a violent offense (23%). * In 2009, 17% of released defendants missed a scheduled court appearance, resulting in a bench warrant being issued for their arrest (table 18). This was about the same percentage as in 2006, but lower than the 24% rate observed prior to 1996 (not shown in table). * In 2009, failure-to-appear rates were lowest for murder (5%) and rape (7%) defendants, and highest for those released after being charged with motor vehicle theft (28%). * An estimated 16% of released defendants were rearrested for a new offense while in a pretrial release status (table 19). This was within the 13% to 21% range observed across other SCPS study years. * Rates of rearrest were highest among robbery (24%) and burglary (22%) defendants. About half of the rearrests in 2009 involved a new felony charge. ************************************************ ******************************* List of tables and figures – Pretrial release and detention ******************************* TABLE 12. Felony defendants released before or detained until case disposition in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 13. Felony defendants released prior to case disposition in the 75 largest counties, by criminal history, 2009 TABLE 14. Time from arrest to release for felony defendants released before case disposition in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 12. Type of pretrial release for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 2009 FIGURE 13. Pretrial of release of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by bail amount, 2009 TABLE 15. Bail amount for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 16. Median and mean bail amounts for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by pretrial release/detention outcome and most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 14. Use of financial conditions for pretrial release of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 TABLE 17. Released felony defendants committing misconduct in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 18. Released felony defendants who failed to make a scheduled court appearance in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 19. Released felony defendants rearrested prior to case disposition in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 ************************************************ ************************* Section 5: Adjudication ************************* * The median time from arrest to adjudication for felony defendants in 2009 was 111 days (table 20). This was the highest median recorded in any SCPS year and was about a month longer than the low of 79 days recorded in 1998. * The median time from arrest to adjudication ranged from more than 1 year for murder to less than 3 months for motor vehicle theft and drug offenses other than trafficking. Overall, 85% were adjudicated within 1 year; however, a third of murder cases were adjudicated within 1 year. * Overall, the median time from arrest to adjudication was shorter for detained defendants (68 days) than for those released prior to case disposition (163 days). The difference existed for all offenses, ranging from 40 days for robbery defendants to about 120 days for defendants charged with fraud, forgery, motor vehicle theft, or drug trafficking (figure 15). * Among cases that were adjudicated within the 1-year study period, 66% resulted in a conviction. Just over half (54%) of defendants were convicted of a felony and 12% were convicted of a misdemeanor. Nearly all convictions were the result of a guilty plea rather than a trial (table 21). * In most cases when a defendant was not convicted, it was because the charges against the defendant were dismissed. About a quarter of all cases ended in this manner. An estimated 9% of cases resulted in a deferred adjudication or diversion outcome. * Defendants charged with assault (35%) were more than 3 times as likely to have their case dismissed as those charged with a driving-related offense (10%) and about twice as likely to have their case dismissed as those charged with drug trafficking (18%) or murder (17%). * The percentage of convictions was highest for defendants charged with a driving-related offense (84%), followed by drug trafficking defendants (73%). The lowest conviction rate was for those charged with assault (56%) (figure 16). * The probability that a defendant would eventually be convicted of the original felony charge was highest for those charged with a driving-related offense (64%), murder (60%), or drug trafficking (55%). The lowest probability was for those charged with rape (35%) and assault (33%). * Felony assaults accounted for 6% of SCPS convictions in 2009, compared to about 12% of the cases as originally charged (see table 1). Overall, an estimated 18% of the convictions for cases originally charged as felonies were at the misdemeanor level (table 22). * Conviction rates were higher for defendants who were detained until case disposition (77%) than for those who were released (59%). This was true across all offense categories (figure 17). * The percentage of felony defendants convicted in 2009 (66%) was within the range of the 64% to 68% observed in all other SCPS study years, except 1994 (72%). The felony conviction rate of 54% recorded in 2009 was in the middle of the 50% to 58% range observed in other SCPS study years (figure 18). ************************************************ ****************************** List of tables and figures – Adjudication ****************************** TABLE 20. Time from arrest to adjudication for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 15. Median number of days from arrest to adjudication in the 75 largest counties, by detention- release outcome, 2009 TABLE 21. Adjudication outcome for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 FIGURE 16. Conviction percents for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, 2009 TABLE 22. Felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 FIGURE 17. Adjudication outcome for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, by detention-release outcome and most serious arrest charge category, 2009 FIGURE 18. Conviction rates for felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 ************************************************ *********************** Section 6: Sentencing *********************** * About two-thirds (65%) of convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties in 2009 received their sentence within 1 day of the conviction date. Sentences for misdemeanors (83%) were more likely than sentences for felonies (60%) to occur within 1 day. Overall, 93% of sentences were handed out within 2 months of the conviction date (table 23). * About 75% of the defendants convicted of a felony were sentenced to incarceration in a state prison or local jail, compared to 56% of those convicted of a misdemeanor. About 1 in 4 felony convictions and 1 in 3 misdemeanor convictions resulted in a probation sentence (table 24). * Convictions for murder (100%), rape (89%), or robbery (89%) were the most likely to result in a sentence to incarceration. Felony convictions were least likely to result in an incarceration sentence when they were for forgery (64%) or a nontrafficking drug offense (64%). * Overall, incarceration sentences were almost evenly divided between prison (36%) and jail (37%) in 2009. Felony convictions were more likely to result in a sentence to prison (42%) than jail (33%). Nearly all incarceration sentences for misdemeanor convictions were to jail (53%) rather than prison (3%). * Nearly all (98%) murder convictions resulted in a prison sentence, as did 84% of rape convictions. About half of the defendants convicted for weapons offenses (53%), burglary (53%), or assault (47%) were sentenced to prison. * The percentage of defendants eventually convicted and sentenced to incarceration was highest for those originally charged with a driving-related offense (65%), murder (55%), motor vehicle theft (55%), or robbery (52%). The percentage was lowest for those charged with forgery (37%), assault (40%), fraud (42%), or larceny/theft (42%) (figure 19). * The mean length of prison sentences received for felony convictions in 2009 was 52 months and the median length was 30 months. These averages are about the same as in 2004 and 2006, but lower than those recorded in years prior to 1998. In 2009, the median prison sentence for violent offenses (48 months) was twice as long as for nonviolent offenses (24 months) (table 25). * Convictions for murder resulted in the longest median prison sentence (360 months). About 1 in 5 murderers received a life sentence. The next longest median sentences were for rape (120 months) and robbery (60 months). The median prison sentence for an assault, burglary, or drug trafficking conviction was 36 months. * Overall, the mean jail sentence was 5 months and the median was 4 months. Four percent of jail sentences were for more than 1 year. Convictions for robbery (8%) or a weapons offense (8%) were the most likely to result in a jail term exceeding 1 year (table 26). * In 2009, the overall median length for probation sentences was 33 months, about the same as in past years. The median sentence was longer for felonies (30 months) than for misdemeanors (12 months). The median sentence for property-related felonies (24 months) was shorter than for other felony offense categories (36 months). About 1 in 4 sentences for violent and public- order offenses exceeded 36 months (table 27). * About 3 in 10 probation sentences included a fine, including 36% of those for drug offenses. Treatment was required in nearly 3 in 10 probation sentences, including nearly half (45%) of those for drug offenses. About 1 in 4 probation sentences required community service (23%), and 1 in 5 required restitution. More than a third of the probation sentences for property offenses required restitution (table 28). * Among defendants convicted of a violent felony, about 5 in 10 were sentenced to prison if they had no prior felony convictions. About 6 in 10 of those with a single prior felony and 7 in 10 of those with multiple prior felony convictions received a prison sentence (figure 20). * Among defendants convicted of a nonviolent felony, 55% of those with multiple prior felony convictions received a prison sentence, compared to 40% of those with a single prior felony conviction and 23% of those with no prior felony convictions. * From 1990 to 2009, the percentage of felony convictions resulting in an incarceration sentence ranged from 71% to 77%, and the use of prison sentences ranged from 35% to 44%. Prior to 1996 and after 2004, more felony convictions resulted in a sentence to prison than to jail. In other years, the two types of sentences were used with about the same frequency (figure 21). * Between 1990 and 2009, the percentage of felony convictions resulting in an incarceration sentence remained the same for defendants under age 40. For defendants age 40 or older convicted of a felony, the percentage sentenced to incarceration increased from 71% in 1990 to 77% in 2009 (figure 22). ************************************************ ***************************** List of tables and figures – Sentencing ***************************** TABLE 23. Time from conviction to sentencing for convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 TABLE 24. Most severe type of sentence received by convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 FIGURE 19. Felony defendants convicted and sentenced to incarceration in the 75 largest counties, by most serious arrest charge 2009 TABLE 25. Length of prison sentence received by defendants convicted of a felony in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 TABLE 26. Length of jail sentence received by convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 TABLE 27. Length of probation sentence received by convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 TABLE 28. Conditions of probation sentence received most often by convicted defendants in the 75 largest counties, by most serious conviction offense, 2009 FIGURE 20. Type of sentence received for a felony conviction in the 75 largest counties, by prior conviction record, 2009 FIGURE 21. Most severe type of sentence received by defendants convicted of a felony in the 75 largest counties, 1990–2009 FIGURE 22. Defendants convicted of a felony who were sentenced to incarceration in the 75 largest counties, by age at arrest, 1990, 2000, and 2009 ************************************************ ************ Methodology ************ Sample design ______________ The State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) sample was designed and selected by U.S. Census Bureau staff. It is a two-stage stratified sample, with 40 of the nation’s 75 largest counties selected at stage one and a systematic sample of state court felony filings (defendants) within each county selected at stage two. The 40 counties were divided into four first-stage strata based on overall population, arrests, and felony filing information. The first stratum was designed to include 10 counties selected with certainty because of their large number of court filings; however, one of these counties (Clark County, Nevada) did not provide the requested data and was excluded from the final data file and analyses. Hence, the first-stage weight for stratum one counties was changed from 1.00 to 1.111. The remaining counties were allocated to the three noncertainty strata based on the variance of felony court filings, population, and arrest data. SCPS first-stage design ************************* Number of counties Stratum Sample Universe Weight ___________________________________________________ One 9 10 1.111 Two 7 12 1.714 Three 9 18 2.0 Four 14 35 2.5 The second-stage sampling (filings) was designed to represent all defendants who had felony cases filed with the court during the month of May 2009. The participating jurisdictions provided data for every felony case filed on selected days during that month. Depending on the first-stage stratum in which it had been placed, each jurisdiction provided filings data for 5, 10, or 20 selected business days in May 2009. Data from jurisdictions that were not required to provide a full month of filings were weighted to represent the full month. SCPS second-stage design ************************** Stratum Number of days of filings provided Weight ______________________________________________ One 5.0 4.0 Two 10.0 2.0 Three 10.0 2.0 Four 20.0 1.0 See table 29 for county-by-county sampling information. Once the sample lists were generated, the data on felony cases filed in the selected counties were collected from a variety of sources. These included court administrative files, pretrial case management systems, jail records, prosecutor offices, state criminal history record files, and other statistical agencies. In some counties, the required information was manually transferred from official records to a SCPS data collection form. In other counties, an electronic download of the requested SCPS data was provided by the county. Special adjustment for Cook County ___________________________________ An issue arose with the data provided by Cook County, Illinois, a stratum one county. In 2009, BJS’s data collection agent, Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS), received a data extract from the Cook County Circuit Court. The extract encompassed all felony cases that were filed or had an initial hearing in the Cook County Circuit Court for five randomly selected business days in May 2009. This approach differed from prior SCPS years for Cook County, in which the sample list covered felony cases filed in Cook County municipal courts and then tracked those cases as they were either disposed in the municipal courts or bound over to the circuit courts. Since the 2009 Cook County file contained only those felony cases processed in the Circuit Court, it did not include the municipal court component that had been covered in previous SCPS projects. This issue was addressed through a two-step process. Previous data obtained for 248 cases disposed in Cook County municipal courts in 2006 were added to the 2009 data. The use of these data was based on the assumption that the types of cases filed and disposed in the municipal courts had not changed since 2006. This assumption was validated by examining municipal court dispositions in Cook County from 2000 through 2009. The addition of the 248 cases from 2006 brought the number of Cook County cases in the 2009 SCPS data file to 1,229 cases (i.e., 248 municipal or lower court cases and 981 circuit or upper court cases). The new preliminary number of felony cases filed in Cook County was then adjusted to take into account declines in felony caseloads from 2006 to 2009. In 2009, 31,106 felony cases were filed in Cook County courts, which equates to about 598 felony cases filed per week. In 2006, 716 felony cases were filed in Cook County in a 1 week period. An adjustment was calculated to account for this overall decline in the Cook County caseload from 2006 to 2009 (598/716 = .83546). This adjustment was applied to the 2006 number of lower (248), upper (397), and pending (71) cases to generate an estimate of these cases in 2009 (i.e., 207, 332, and 59, respectively). The cases in the 2009 file were then weighted so that their totals would reflect these 2009 case type estimates. Data summary _____________ The 2009 SCPS collected data for 16,694 defendants charged with a felony offense during May 2009 in 39 large counties. These cases were part of a sample that was representative of the estimated 56,083 felony defendants whose cases were processed in the nation’s 75 largest counties during that month. Defendants charged with murder were tracked for up to 2 years and all other defendants were followed for up to 1 year. This report is based on data collected from the following 39 counties: Arizona (Maricopa, Pima); California (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Ventura); Connecticut (Hartford); Florida (Broward, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough; Orange); Hawaii (Honolulu); Illinois (Cook); Indiana (Marion); Maryland (Baltimore, Montgomery, Prince George’s); Michigan (Oakland, Wayne); Missouri (Saint Louis); New Jersey (Essex, Middlesex); New York (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Suffolk); North Carolina (Wake); Ohio (Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton); Tennessee (Shelby); Texas (Dallas, El Paso, Harris, Tarrant); Utah (Salt Lake City); Washington (King); and Wisconsin (Milwaukee). Because the data come from a sample, a sampling error and confidence intervals are associated with each reported number. Confidence intervals and standard errors for several key variables in the SCPS database are reported in tables 30 and 31. These confidence intervals show where the reported SCPS numbers would fall 95% of the time under repeated sampling. For example, the confidence interval for the total number of felony defendants in the nation’s 75 largest counties ranged from 51,723 to 60,081 defendants. In other words, if repeated sampling of felony case processing in the nation’s 75 largest counties was undertaken, there is a 95% confidence that the number of felony defendants would fall between 51,723 and 60,081. Offense categories ___________________ Felony offenses were classified into 16 categories for this report. They were further classified into the four major crime categories of violent, property, drug, and public-order. The following lists are a representative summary of the crimes in each category; however, these lists are not meant to be exhaustive. All offenses, except murder, include attempts and conspiracies to commit. Violent offenses _________________ Murder--Includes homicide, nonnegligent manslaughter, and voluntary homicide. Excludes attempted murder (classified as felony assault), negligent homicide, involuntary homicide, or vehicular manslaughter, which are classified as other violent offenses. Rape--Includes forcible intercourse, sodomy, or penetration with a foreign object. Does not include statutory rape or nonforcible acts with a minor or someone unable to give legal consent, nonviolent sexual offenses, or commercialized sex offenses. Robbery--Includes unlawful taking of anything of value by force or threat of force. Includes armed, unarmed, and aggravated robbery, carjacking, armed burglary, and armed mugging. Assault--Includes aggravated assault, aggravated battery, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault or battery on a law enforcement officer, and other felony assaults. This offense category does not include extortion, coercion, or intimidation. Other violent offenses--Includes vehicular manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, negligent or reckless homicide, nonviolent or nonforcible sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child or spouse abuse, cruelty to a child, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run with bodily injury, intimidation, and extortion. Property offenses ___________________ Burglary--Includes any type of entry into a residence, industry, or business with or without the use of force with the intent to commit a felony or theft. Does not include possession of burglary tools, trespassing, or unlawful entry for which the intent is not known. Larceny/theft--Includes grand theft, grand larceny, and any other felony theft, including burglary from an automobile, theft of rental property, and mail theft. This offense category does not include motor vehicle theft, receiving or buying stolen property, fraud, forgery, or deceit. Motor vehicle theft--Includes auto theft, receiving and transferring an automobile, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, and larceny or taking of an automobile. Forgery--Includes forging of a driver’s license, official seals, notes, money orders, credit or access cards or names of such cards or any other documents with fraudulent intent, uttering a forged instrument, counterfeiting, and forgery. Fraud--Includes possession and passing of worthless checks or money orders, possession of false documents or identification, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses, credit card fraud, welfare fraud, Medicare fraud, insurance claim fraud, fraud, swindling, stealing a thing of value by deceit, and larceny by check. Other property offenses--Includes receiving or buying stolen property, arson, reckless burning, damage to property, criminal mischief, vandalism, criminal trespassing, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful entry for which the interest is unknown. Drug offenses Drug trafficking--Includes trafficking, sales, distribution, possession with intent to distribute or sell, manufacturing, and smuggling of controlled substances. This category does not include possession of controlled substances. Other drug offenses--Includes possession of controlled substances, prescription violations, possession of drug paraphernalia, and other drug law violations. Public-order offenses Weapons offenses--Includes the unlawful sale, distribution, manufacture, alteration, transportation, possession, or use of a deadly weapon or accessory. Driving-related offenses--Includes driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and any other felony in the motor vehicle code. Other public-order offenses--Includes flight/escape, parole or probation violations, prison contraband, habitual offender, obstruction of justice, rioting, libel, slander, treason, perjury, prostituti Pretrial release __________________ Released defendant--Includes any defendant who was released from custody prior to the disposition of his or her case by the court. It also includes defendants who were detained for some period of time before being released and defendants who were returned to custody after being released because of a violation of the conditions of pretrial release. The terms “on pretrial release” and “released pending disposition” are both used in this report to refer to all released defendants. Detained defendant--Includes any defendant who remained in custody from the time of arrest until the disposition of his or her case by the court. This report also refers to detained defendants as “not released.” Failure to appear--Occurs when a court issues a bench warrant because the defendant failed to appear as scheduled. Types of financial release ___________________________ Surety bond--A bail bond company signs a promissory note to the court for the full bail amount and charges the defendant a fee for the service (usually 10% of the full bail amount). If the defendant fails to appear, the bond company is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Frequently the bond company requires collateral from the defendant in addition to the fee. Deposit bond--The defendant deposits a percentage (usually 10%) of the full bail amount with the court. The deposit is returned after the disposition of the case, but the court often retains a small portion for administrative costs. If the defendant fails to appear in court, he or she is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Full cash bond--The defendant posts the full bail amount in cash with the court. If the defendant makes all court appearances, the cash is returned. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond is forfeited. Property bond--Involves an agreement made by the defendant as a condition of pretrial release requiring that property valued at the full bail amount be posted as an assurance of his or her appearance in court. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the property is forfeited. It is also known as “collateral bond.” Types of nonfinancial release Release on recognizance (ROR)--The court releases the defendant on a signed agreement that he or she will appear in court as required. In this report, the ROR category includes citation releases in which arrestees are released pending their first court appearance on a written order issued by law enforcement or jail personnel. Unsecured bond--The defendant pays no money to the court but is liable for the full amount of bail upon failure to appear in court. Conditional release--The defendant is released under specified conditions. A pretrial services agency usually conducts monitoring or supervision, if ordered for a defendant. In some cases, such as those involving a third-party custodian or drug monitoring and treatment, another agency may be involved in the supervision of the defendant. Conditional release sometimes includes an unsecured bond. Other type of release ______________________ Emergency release--Defendants are released in response to a court order placing limits on a jail’s population. ********************************************************** The Bureau of Justice Statistics, located in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, collects, analyzes, and disseminates statistical information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. William J. Sabol is acting director. These statistical tables were prepared by Brian A. Reaves of BJS. Andrew Tiedt provided verification. Morgan Young and Irene Cooperman (Lockheed Martin) edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced the report. December 2013, NCJ 243777 ********************************************************* ************************************************ Office of Justice Programs Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov ************************************************ *********************** 11/22/2013 JER 3:50pm ***********************