Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025
23 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced in the Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 70% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, which is higher than the 12 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together. 22 p
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Minnesota
In brief: 23 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced in the Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 70% received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, which is higher than the 12 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together. 22 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 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.
Guidelines Behind the Category
This offense type groups offenses that involve courts, investigations, and law enforcement. The Commission assigns it by primary guideline. In Minnesota, §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) and §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) each had 6 people. §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) each had 4.
These cases were less than 1% of the 3,630 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison and Probation
16 of the 23 people (70%) received a prison term, and 5 (22%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all districts, 72% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median was 18 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. The median for all offenses in the District of Minnesota was 70 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Nearly Everyone Pleaded Guilty
22 of 23 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Because the trial group is a single person, the data does not give separate median prison terms for pleas and trials.
Guilty pleas were 93% for this offense type in all districts and 94% for all offenses in this district. Every guilty plea in Minnesota (100%) had a written plea agreement.
The Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
10 people (43%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 6 (26%) were below it at the government's request, 5 (22%) were below it without a request, and 2 (9%) were above it.
The within-range share was 48% in all districts and 31% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 23 people.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
17 people (74%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (4%), and restitution for 4 (17%).
30% were in the lowest criminal history category and 26% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
12 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 11 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September.
Yearly counts are from 1 to 4 people, so the medians in the table, from 8.5 months in 2024 to 36 months in 2020, do not show a trend. Several rows show n/a, and the 2025 median of 0 months is for 1 person.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 27.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 2 | 31 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 3 | 36 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | 10 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 0 of 1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 8.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of the Data
The Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included. The records give no case facts, and the offense type is assigned by the primary guideline, not by the full list of charges.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Minnesota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Minnesota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (23). 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 Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Minnesota, 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.