Justice Department: Better Management Oversight and Internal Controls Needed to Ensure Accuracy of Terrorism-Related Statistics

In response to a recommendation we made in 2003 relating to the accuracy of DOJ's case classification system and reporting of terrorism-related conviction data, the Executive Office of U.S. Attorney's (EOUSA) took steps to require all U.S. Attorneys and First Assistant. U.S. Attorneys in all U.S. Attorney districts to oversee and validate the accuracy of case classification and conviction data entered in the Legal Information On-Line System (LIONS) and to reconcile summary information for data completeness prior to submission to EOUSA. Specifically, in April 2003 the EOUSA issued a memo to all U.S. Attorneys & First Assistant U.S. Attorneys requiring them to review and update the accuracy of the pending and closed terrorism & anti-terrorism-related matters and cases, including a review of each data element and program category codes displayed on the report per matter or case to ensure that the data is accurate and up to date. Additional requirements were put in place requiring the U.S. Attorney districts to periodically conduct such reviews. This was evident by the inclusion of a specific case certification requirement included in the United States Attorneys' Procedure (USAP) 3-16.130.001(M) on October 22, 2004, as well as copies of memorandums issued to USAOs in 2004 & 2005 requiring them to complete case certifications. The EOUSA has also scheduled a training session for its Docket clerks from October 31-November 2, 2006, that will address the requirements for entering data on terrorism/anti-terrorism-related matters/cases in LIONS. To address the limited entry validation checks for cases currently entered in LIONS, EOUSA plans to replace LIONS with a future enterprise-wide case management system that will strengthen and allow entry validation.