Even as the historic decrease in violent crimes in New York has meant fewer people accused of felonies, the number of misdemeanor arrests has actually increased in recent years.
Of the 16,564 drug offenders imprisoned as of April 3, fewer than 3percentt of them, or 481 people, were serving time for the state's most serious drug offenses, A-1 felonies; that number is down from the 724 imprisoned similarly in 1995.
The panel is asking for sensitive information like the last four digits of voters' Social Security numbers, felony convictions and voting histories, but only if that information is "publicly available" in the given state.
But such assumptions usually take the total number of all exonerations in the country and divide it by total number of felony convictions an incorrect calculation because most false convictions, especially for more minor felonies, are never revealed.
From 1991 through 1999, the number of felony arrests fell by 17percentt, in large part because serious crimes dwindled.
In California, the number of felony arrests for methamphetamine production increased by about 70percentt over the last decade, Mr. Kilmer said.
But state judge Cynthia Feland has thrown out the felony offenses against a number of the defendants, including His Horse Is Thunder.
There has also been a 27 percent reduction in the number of felony matters pending two years or more, hardly the portrait of a "lackadaisical court culture" (editorial, April 22).
Now he and thirty-five others — all alleged members of 3 Staccs — faced a number of felony charges, including weapons possession, assault, attempted murder, and conspiracy.
Behind the ruling were some chastening statistics: Over the past three years, the average number of felony cases handled by each lawyer rose from 367 annually to nearly 500.
