Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025
In the District of Kansas, 56% of the 91 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 42% received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 72% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. The median prison
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Kansas
In brief: In the District of Kansas, 56% of the 91 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 42% received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 72% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. The median prison term in Kansas was 10 months, compared with 12 months nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 91 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.
Prison Was Less Common Here Than Nationally
Of the 91 people sentenced in this offense type in the District of Kansas, 51 (56%) received a prison term. Another 38 (42%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
For all 94 federal districts together, 6,448 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses, and 72% were sent to prison. Prison was therefore less common in Kansas for this offense type than in the country as a whole.
Administration of Justice is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types. It is the Commission's own grouping of cases by the main guideline used at sentencing, not a single statute.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
Among the 51 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 2.7 months or less.
The national median for this offense type was 12 months. The median for all offenses in the District of Kansas was 46 months, so these cases carried shorter terms than the district's cases overall.
The terms are the sentences imposed, not the time actually served.
Which Guidelines Were Used?
The most common primary guideline was §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony), used in 60 cases. Next were §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 18 cases, §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 4, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 3.
Misprision of felony covers knowing about a felony and concealing it. Because most cases used that guideline, the district's totals mostly reflect that kind of case.
Pleas, Plea Agreements, and Mandatory Minimums
All 91 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. For all offenses in the district, 97% pleaded guilty, and across all districts for this offense type the figure was 93%.
Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 90 people with that information recorded.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
A sentence within the guideline range was given to 46 people (51%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 28 (31%), and 10 (11%) were below the range without a government request. A sentence above the range was given to 7 people (8%).
For all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. In the District of Kansas, 42% of sentences across all offenses were within the range.
Other Parts of the Sentence
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 39 people (43%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (5%), and restitution for 7 (8%).
By criminal history, 57% were in the lowest category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and What the Records Cannot Show
These cases made up 2% of the 4,217 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. From fiscal year 2016 to 2019 there were 60 people, and from 2020 to 2025 there were 31. The table gives each year, and the yearly counts are small, so single-year medians should not be read as trends.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not show why one case ended in probation and another in prison.
Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell AFB are in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers do not describe them.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 17 | 6.7 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 14 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 14 | 7 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 6 | 8 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 8 | 27.7 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2023 | 3 | 2.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 5 months | 6 of 6 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Kansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kansas") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (91). 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 District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Kansas, 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.