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# Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-administration-of-justice-sentences-district-of-maryland/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:01:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:01:46.000Z
- Description: In the District of Maryland, 39 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and 31 (79%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 12 months in all 94 federal districts. In Maryland, 39% were sentenced within the guideli
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-maryland/) › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Maryland

**In brief:** In the District of Maryland, 39 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and 31 (79%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 12 months in all 94 federal districts. In Maryland, 39% were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 48% in all districts.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Median Prison Term of 8 Months

Of the 39 people, 31 (79%) received a prison term, and 2 (5%) received probation only. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 8 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 4.5 months or less.

For this offense type in all 94 districts, 72% were sent to prison and the median was 12 months. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months.

## Obstruction and Related Guidelines

"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and cases are classified by their primary guideline. The most common was §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), with 14 people. Next was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 12.

Then came §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury), with 4, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant), with 3\. These cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district.

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

Of the 38 people with the information, 15 (39%) were within the range. Below it at the government's request were 13 (34%), and below it without a government request were 8 (21%). A total of 2 (5%) were above the range.

For all offenses in this district, 31% were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 38 people with that information recorded.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

A total of 33 of the 39 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 95%.

The median prison term was 7.5 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people. Among guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release and Other Penalties

After prison, 30 people (77%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 4 people (10%).

In criminal history, 56% were in the lowest category and 10% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Years With Few People

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 23 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 16\. The largest year in the table is fiscal year 2018, with 12 people. Most other years have 4 or 5 people, and fiscal years 2023 and 2025 are not in the table.

Yearly medians range from 4 months in 2016 to 12 months in several years. The groups are too small to show a trend. A fiscal year begins in October and ends the following September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 4 months      | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 5                | 7 months      | 5 of 5         |
| 2018        | 12               | 12 months     | 67%            |
| 2019        | 4                | 12 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 4                | 6 months      | 4 of 4         |
| 2021        | 4                | 12 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 4                | 6 months      | 3 of 4         |
| 2024        | 4                | 5 months      | 3 of 4         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data includes people convicted and sentenced, and it gives no facts about the underlying cases. Each term is the one imposed, not time served.

Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (39). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-maryland/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.