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Criminal Trial Analytics: Learning from Verdicts

In the world of civil litigation, tracking jury verdicts is big business. Attorneys and their clients want to know what juries in a particular jurisdiction have been doing before they go to trial. It also helps both sides understand the risks and rewards of going to trial.

Experienced criminal defense practitioners have a wealth of knowledge about what juries have been doing on cases in their jurisdiction, and they are able to help set realistic expectations for their clients. With the advance of technology and through Public Information Act requests, criminal practitioners have an additional tool in their arsenal: analytics from previous jury trials in a particular jurisdiction.

The information below was compiled from the last two years of trials in Tarrant County. Tarrant County is the third-most populous county in Texas and home to 1.9 million people. There are ten courts devoted to primarily felony cases.

Based on records obtained from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, there were 16,626 felony cases filed, 14,481 felony cases indicted, and 153 felony cases tried to Tarrant County juries in 2016. (The data below reflects both 2015 and 2016.)

While these figures are a useful tool in helping individuals accused of crimes understand in general terms the risks and rewards of going to trial, every criminal case hinges on the facts specific to that case. As a result, trying to extrapolate the outcome of any particular case based on past verdicts in criminal cases would be a mistake. With that said, the results are reflective of the community. The verdicts of “not guilty” in the face of the most heinous of accusations such as continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual assault, murder, and even capital murder mean that overall juries are doing exactly what they were intended to do – listening to the evidence and requiring prosecutors to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt before returning a verdict of guilt.

By the numbers, here’s the breakdown based on jury trials in 2015 and 2016 by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office.

Felony Jury Trials Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office: By the Numbers

Number of cases tried: 316

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 238

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 78

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 75.3%

Criminal Trial Analytics: Learning from Verdicts

Criminal Jury Trials for Sex Offenses Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

Number of cases tried: 98

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 68

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 30

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 69%

Sexual Assault Jury Trials

Continuous Sexual Assault Cases: Lower Conviction Rates but Higher Sentences

Certain offenses such as Continous Sexual Assault of Child cases have lower conviction rates on the offense charged, but higher sentences for those convicted of the offense. The sentences ranged from the statutory minimum of 25 years to the statutory maximum of life. Using 99 years as the numeric value for life, the average sentence imposed was 53 years in prison. This is higher than the majority of current inmates in Texas prisons for continuous sexual assault of a minor cases, 51% of whom are serving sentences between 20-40 years.

Continuous sexual assault jury trial arrant

Continuous Sexual Assault Prisoners

Related Practice Areas:

Sexual Assault Defense

Felony Jury Trials for Assaultive Offenses Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

Number of cases tried: 50

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 39

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 11

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 69%

felony assaults fort worth criminal defense

Related Practice Areas:

Felony Family Violence Defense

Aggravated Assault

Assault by Choking, Impeding Breath, or Strangulation

Felony Jury Trials for Drug Offenses Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

Number of cases tried: 26

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 19

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 7

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 73%

felony assaults fort worth criminal defense

Related Practice Areas

Possession of Controlled Substance

Felony Jury Trials for Intoxication-Related Offenses Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

Number of cases tried: 15

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 13

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 2

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 87%

intoxication manslaughter tarrant county

Related Practice Areas

Intoxication Manslaughter

Intoxication Assault

DWI Felony Repetition

Criminal Jury Trial for Homicides Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

(Trials involving deaths excluding intoxication manslaughter cases)

Number of cases tried: 37

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 29

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 9

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 78%

murder defense

Murder: Higher Conviction Rates, Sentences Mirror State Average

Of the 22 murder cases tried to juries in Tarrant County over the last two years, 18 resulted in convictions on the charge of murder. This is a higher rate of conviction on the offense charged when compared to other felony offenses tried to juries in Tarrant County. For purposes of determining an average sentence for this offense, a life sentence is treated as 60 years because an individual who is sentenced to life in prison for murder in Texas is eligible for parole in 30 years. The average sentence for murder after a jury returned a verdict of guilty in Tarrant County for 2015 and 2016 is 49.2 years. This is consistent with the majority of murder sentences throughout the state.

murder not guilty

Practice Areas

Murder Defense

Capital Murder Defense

Manslaughter Defense

Worth Noting

Acquittal in Murder Charge, June 2016

Criminal Jury Trial for 3G Offenses Prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office in 2015 and 2016

Number of cases tried: 126

Number of cases where the jury returned a verdict of guilt on the offense charged: 97

Number of cases where the jury did not return a verdict of guilt on offense charged: 29

Percentage of cases where the accused was found guilty of the offense as charged: 77%

3G offenses

Learn more: What is a 3G Offense in Texas?

Trial: Behind the Numbers

The raw data for this article was obtained through a public information act request. The data was then compiled and summarized. The compiled data has been provided below. The names of the accused, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and courts are intentionally omitted.

Two cases in which guilty verdicts were returned have been acquitted on appeal. An acquittal on appeal is different than a reversal because a reversal generally sends the case back to the trial court to resolve. An acquittal generally means there was no basis for the conviction, and the Court of Appeals is entering a finding that the accused was not guilty. For that reason, these cases were not treated as guilty verdicts for purposes of this article. (Cases acquitted on appeal: Fort Worth Mortuary Case, Sexual Assault Prosecution).

In a number of cases the accused pled guilty to the offense charged during trial. These are considered guilty verdicts for the purposes of this article even though the jury did not render a verdict of guilt.

In the graphics above, “other” includes verdicts that were other than guilty on the offense charged. “Other” includes convictions on lower charges, mistrials, and not guilty verdicts.

Who We Are

Varghese Summersett PLLC is a boutique criminal defense firm based out of Fort Worth, Texas. All of our partners are former Tarrant County prosecutors. We have tried over 550 cases to juries in Texas. As the numbers above reflect, the vast majority of criminal cases do not result in jury trials, so we bring a tremendous amount of experience to any criminal case. We are proud of the trials in which we have defended clients against serious accusations and juries have returned verdicts of “Not Guilty” including against allegations of sexual assault and murder. (To learn more about our results in criminal cases, read our reviews and check out our results page.) If you or a loved one is facing a serious criminal accusation, call us at (817) 203-2220 or contact us online.

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