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In this Feb. 11, 2015 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to law enforcement officers and guests in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House Complex in Washington. The share of federal drug offenders who received harsh mandatory minimum sentences has plunged in the past year, said Holder Feb. 17, 2015 in arguing for the success of his criminal justice policies. Experts credit Holder for helping raise sentencing policy as a public issue, but they also say it's hard to gauge how much of the impact is directly attributable to his actions.

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS AP

WASHINGTON Federal drug prosecutions have dropped, Attorney General Eric Holder disclosed Tuesday in a valedictory speech that foreshadowed some Capitol Hill fights awaiting his designated successor.

With the Justice Department now steering prosecutors away from nonviolent, low-level drug offenses, the overall number of federal drug prosecutions dropped 6 percent between 2013 and 2014; from 22,215 to 20,824. Holder called the decrease a success.

Not every case should be brought in federal court, Holder said in a speech at the National Press Club, adding that our prosecutors are focusing their attention, and their resources, on the most serious cases.

Federal prosecutors have also eased up on harsh mandatory minimum sentences, Holder disclosed. Since his Smart on Crime initiative began in August 2013, he said, prosecutors filed charges that carried a mandatory minimum in 51 percent of the drug cases. In prior years, mandatory minimum sentences were sought in about 64 percent of federal drug cases.

This figure, perhaps more than any other, shows the significant impact that our policy reforms are having, Holder said. These are extremely encouraging results.

The attorney generals hour-long appearance is likely to be one of his last big public presentations in his current position. His focus on sentencing and criminal justice reform underscored where he thinks his legacy might be as the nations 82nd chief law enforcement officer.

Loretta Lynch, Holders designated successor and currrently the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, now has her delayed Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation vote scheduled for next week. While some Republican lawmakers, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, publicly oppose her, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sought to actively block a vote, Lynchs eventual confirmation appears all but certain.

Holders work, in the meantime, is not done. Several acutely sensitive decisions remain in the Justice Department pipeline, which Holder hopes to clear so Lynch can start with a clean desk.

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Drug cases down as feds sharpen focus, Holder says