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# Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-administration-of-justice-sentences-district-of-vermont/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:12.000Z
- Description: 13 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of Vermont in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2017 to 2024. 7 (54%) received a prison term and 6 (46%) received probation only. The median prison term was 4.1 months, compared with 12 months for this offense type
- 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) › Administration of Justice Offense: District of Vermont

**In brief:** 13 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the District of Vermont in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2017 to 2024\. 7 (54%) received a prison term and 6 (46%) received probation only. The median prison term was 4.1 months, compared with 12 months for this offense type in all 94 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 13 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/).

## Probation Only for 6 of 13 People

6 of the 13 people (46%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 7 (54%) received a prison term. For this offense type in all 94 districts, 72% were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 4.1 months. A quarter received 11.8 months or more, and a quarter received 1.6 months or less. In all districts, the Commission counts 6,448 people in this offense type, with a median prison term of 12 months. For all offenses in the Vermont district, the median was 18 months.

## What the Offense Type Includes

"Administration of Justice" is the Commission's category for offenses that involve courts and law enforcement. The primary guideline was §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) for 5 people. §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) and §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) each applied to 2 people, and §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury) applied to 1.

These cases were less than 1% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the district.

## Pleas and Trials

12 of 13 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.

The median prison term was 7.8 months after a guilty plea. The one person convicted at trial and sent to prison had a prison term of 2 months. One case cannot be compared with 12 others. 92% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

Of 12 people with the information, 42% (5) were sentenced within the guideline range. 33% (4) were below the range at the government's request, and 25% (3) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.

For this offense type in all districts, 48% of sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 21%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 12 people.

## Release Terms and Criminal History

3 people (23%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (23%), and restitution for 2 (15%).

83% of the group were in criminal history category I, and 8% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Very Few Cases Each Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7\. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. The table lists the years with cases, and no year has more than 4 people. The median is shown as n/a in 2017 and 2019, and the other medians run from 2 months in 2018 to 11.6 months in 2021\. These numbers are too small to show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 4                | n/a           | 4 of 4         |
| 2018        | 1                | 2 months      | 0 of 1         |
| 2019        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 3                | 6 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 11.6 months   | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 6.6 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 4.1 months    | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people convicted and sentenced and reports terms imposed, not time served. It does not describe the facts of any case or the earlier matter that led to an obstruction or perjury charge.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (13). 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (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.