Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the District of Colorado sentenced 71 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type. 54 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 10 months, compared with a median of 12 months for all 94 districts. The most common primary gu
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Colorado
In brief: From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the District of Colorado sentenced 71 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type. 54 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 10 months, compared with a median of 12 months for all 94 districts. The most common primary guideline was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), used for 41 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 71 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.
What Cases Fall in This Offense Type
"Administration of Justice" is a category the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns by the main guideline used at sentencing. In Colorado, the most common primary guideline was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 41 people.
Next were §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony), with 19 people, and §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), with 5. One person was sentenced under §2J1.4 (Impersonation).
These cases were 2% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Each fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the next September.
Prison, Probation, and Median Terms
Of the 71 people, 54 (76%) received a prison term, and 16 (23%) received probation only. For all districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. None of these figures measures time served.
The median for all offenses in the District of Colorado was 36 months, so this offense type had a much lower median than the district as a whole.
Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials
A total of 69 of 71 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas in Colorado, 100% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 9.5 months after a guilty plea and 48 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 2 people, so it cannot be compared in any firm way with the plea figure.
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
For 70 people, the records show how the sentence compared with the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Sentences below the range without a government request were the largest group, at 27 people (39%). Sentences below the range at the government's request were given to 21 (30%). Sentences within the range were given to 19 (27%), and sentences above the range to 3 (4%).
For all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.
Other Terms of Sentencing
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 68 people with that information recorded (3%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 40 people (56%), with a median term of 24 months.
A fine was ordered for 5 people (7%), and restitution for 5 (7%). In criminal history, 43% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 13% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 34 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 37 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists each year.
Yearly counts run from 3 to 12 people. A median based on 3 or 4 people, such as the 5 months shown for 2025, says little on its own and does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 9 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 8 | 3.3 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 10 | 8 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 12 | 12 months | 92% |
| 2020 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 4 | 10 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 8 | 8.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Do Not Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in the Commission's data. People whose cases ended in acquittal or dismissal are left out.
Installations in the district show up in this site's court-martial data, but courts-martial are held in military courts and never in this federal court. The installations are Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Nothing here ties them to these federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (71). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, 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.