Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025
76 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68% received a prison term, with a median of 14 months, and 25% received probation only. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median prison term was 12 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Nebraska
In brief: 76 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68% received a prison term, with a median of 14 months, and 25% received probation only. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median prison term was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 76 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, Probation, and Median Terms
52 of the 76 people (68%) received a prison term, and 19 (25%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
The median prison term in this district was 14 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 9.8 months or less. The median across every offense in the district was 57 months, so these cases carried shorter terms than the district's cases overall.
Which Offenses Are in This Category
"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes that involve the work of the courts and law enforcement. The most common primary guidelines were §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 34 people and §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 26. §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) had 12 people, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) had 3.
These cases were 2% of the 4,887 people sentenced in the district across the 10 fiscal years.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
The yearly table shows between 4 and 14 people sentenced in each fiscal year. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September. In fiscal year 2023, 4 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 87 months. In fiscal year 2020, 9 people were sentenced, and the median was 8 months.
Groups this small can produce a high or low median from a few cases. The medians should not be read as a trend. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 35 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 41.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 24 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 8 | 18 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 14 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 9 | 8 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 8 | 17 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2023 | 4 | 87 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 9 | 21 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2025 | 5 | 10 months | 5 of 5 |
A Single Trial Conviction
75 of the 76 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 13 months after a guilty plea and 17 months after the trial, which rests on that 1 person.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 84% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas. For all offenses in the district, 97% pleaded guilty.
Against the Guideline Range
35 people (46%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 14 (18%) were below it at the government's request, and 24 (32%) were below it without a government request. 3 (4%) were above the range.
The figure for being within the range was 48% for this offense type in all districts and 48% for all offenses in the district. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 76 people.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
50 people (66%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 21 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (4%) and restitution for 2 (3%).
47% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 14% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of the Record
This data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not counted, and the data gives no facts about any case. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nebraska (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nebraska") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (76). 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 Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nebraska, 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.