Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025
In the District of Puerto Rico, 117 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 6.4 months, which is lower than the 12 months for all 94 federal districts. 85 people (73%) received a prison term, and 115 (98%) pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–202 › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Puerto Rico
In brief: In the District of Puerto Rico, 117 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 6.4 months, which is lower than the 12 months for all 94 federal districts. 85 people (73%) received a prison term, and 115 (98%) pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 117 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.
A Shorter Median Prison Term Than the National Figure
Among the 85 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 6.4 months. A quarter received 14.6 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. Across all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 12 months.
The share sent to prison was about the same in both groups: 73% in Puerto Rico and 72% across all districts. The other 28 people (24%) in Puerto Rico received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The same district's median for all offenses was 60 months. Administration of justice cases in Puerto Rico therefore had a much lower median than the district's cases as a whole, and they were 1% of the 9,794 people sentenced there.
What Counts as Administration of Justice?
"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes that involve law enforcement officers or court proceedings. The Commission assigns the type from the primary guideline in each case.
The most common primary guideline was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), used for 42 people. Next was §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 36, then §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 16. §2J1.4 (Impersonation) was used for 6.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 117 people, 115 (98%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts in this offense type was 93%, and the rate for all offenses in Puerto Rico was 98%.
Among guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 6.4 months. After a trial it was 10.5 months, but that figure rests on only 2 people, so it says little about trials in general.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range was recorded for all 117 people. A sentence within the range was given to 78 people (67%). Another 19 (16%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 9 (8%) were sentenced below it without such a request. A sentence above the range was given to 11 (9%).
For all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in Puerto Rico, 54% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 116 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 72 people (62%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (4%), and restitution for 12 (10%).
In criminal history, 83% were in the lowest category and less than 1% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure cannot be compared with military cases.
Year-by-Year Counts and What the Records Cannot Show
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 50 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 67. Yearly counts are small, from 6 people in fiscal year 2021 to 17 in fiscal year 2016, so single years should not be read as trends.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records cannot show why the median differs from the national figure or from one year to the next.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 10.1 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 12 | 14.6 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 9 | 15 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2020 | 7 | 12 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2021 | 6 | 6 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 7 | 10.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 15 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 16 | 2.5 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 16 | 4.7 months | 94% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Puerto Rico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (117). 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 Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, 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.