> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-administration-of-justice-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:09.000Z - Description: 63 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 42 (67%) received a prison term with a median of 12 months, the same as the 12 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 19 (30%) received probation only. - 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 South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Administration of Justice Offense: District of South Carolina **In brief:** 63 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 42 (67%) received a prison term with a median of 12 months, the same as the 12 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 19 (30%) received probation only. 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 63 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 Matched the National Figure Among the 42 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. For all 94 districts, the median in this offense type was also 12 months. For all offenses in the District of South Carolina, it was 48.2 months. In all districts, 72% of the 6,448 people in this offense type were sent to prison. The share in this district was 67%. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 7 | 11.1 months | 7 of 7 | | 2017 | 9 | 6 months | 8 of 9 | | 2018 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 | | 2019 | 12 | 12 months | 100% | | 2020 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 | | 2021 | 6 | 0 months | 6 of 6 | | 2022 | 9 | 16 months | 8 of 9 | | 2023 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 | | 2024 | 4 | 21.5 months | 4 of 4 | | 2025 | 4 | 10.5 months | 3 of 4 | ## What the Offense Type Includes The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Administration of Justice" is a category, not a single crime. For 31 people, the primary guideline was §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony). For 16, it was §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice). 13 people had §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), and 1 had §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury). These cases were less than 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district. ## Plea and Trial Results 60 of 63 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The rate was 93% in all districts and 98% for all offenses in the district. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial, based on 3 people. 80% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Guideline Range Results Of the 63 people with this information, 43% (27) were sentenced within the range. 25% (16) were below it at the government's request, and 32% (20) were below it without a government request. None were above the range. Within-range sentences were less common than the 48% for this offense type in all districts and the 47% for all offenses in the district. No mandatory minimum applied to the 63 people. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 36 people (57%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 30 months. A fine was ordered for 6 people (10%), and restitution for 10 (16%). On criminal history, 71% were in the lowest category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Small Yearly Groups There were 35 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 28 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly groups have 2 to 12 people. The table shows medians from 0 months in fiscal year 2021 to 21.5 months in fiscal year 2024\. These groups are too small to show a trend. ## Installations and Limits Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these numbers. The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, and it does not describe any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (63). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (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.