Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Central District of Illinois, 17 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 12 (71%) received a prison term and 2 (12%) received probation only. The median prison term was 16 months, and 16 of the 17 (94%) pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY201 › Administration of Justice Offense: Central District of Illinois
In brief: In the Central District of Illinois, 17 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 12 (71%) received a prison term and 2 (12%) received probation only. The median prison term was 16 months, and 16 of the 17 (94%) pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Who Went to Prison and Who Did Not?
Not everyone in this group received a prison term. Of the 17 people, 12 (71%) did, and 2 (12%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 16 months. A quarter received 21.8 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The median for all 94 districts is 12 months, which is lower than this district's 16 months.
What Counts as Administration of Justice?
"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes that interfere with courts and law enforcement. The sheet shows 4 primary guidelines in this district. The most common was §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), with 7 cases.
3 cases each used §2J1.4 (Impersonation), §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), and §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury). Because the group is mixed, one median describes several different kinds of conduct.
Guilty Pleas, Trial, and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 17 people, 16 (94%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The share pleading guilty is about the same as the 93% for all districts in this offense type and the 94% for all offenses in this district.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 14 months. After a trial it was 26 months, but that figure is based on 1 person and cannot show a pattern.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 17 people (0%). Among guilty pleas, 69% had a written plea agreement and 31% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Of the 17 sentences, 5 (29%) were within the guideline range. Another 7 (41%) were below the range without a government request, and 3 (18%) were below the range at the government's request. 2 (12%) were above the range.
Within-range sentences were less common here than the 48% for all districts in this offense type. They were also less common than the 36% for all offenses in this district.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 12 people (71%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (6%), and restitution for 5 (29%).
In criminal history, 59% were in the lowest category, category I, and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Counts and Limits of the Data
No year had more than 3 people, so the table is a list of small groups and not a trend. There were 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 9 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Where the table shows "n/a", the median could not be reported for that year.
These cases were less than 1% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | 17 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 37 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (17). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.