Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Missouri, 46 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 31 (67%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 12 (26%) received probation only. For all 94 districts, the median prison term for this offens
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY201 › Administration of Justice Offense: Eastern District of Missouri
In brief: In the Eastern District of Missouri, 46 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 31 (67%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 12 (26%) received probation only. For all 94 districts, the median prison term for this offense type was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 46 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.
Which Guidelines Apply to These Cases?
"Administration of Justice" is an offense type defined by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It covers offenses that involve obstructing or interfering with the work of the courts and law enforcement.
The most common primary guidelines in this district were §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 17 people and §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 14 people. Next were §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 13 people and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 2 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Versus Probation
A prison term went to 31 of the 46 people (67%), and 12 (26%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 72% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 26.5 months or more, and a quarter received 7.6 months or less. The nationwide median was 12 months, so the median here is higher.
The median for all offenses in the district was 46 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 46 people, listed as 0.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 43 of 46 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The nationwide rate of guilty pleas for this offense type was also 93%. For all offenses in the district it was 99%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 13.5 months. After a trial it was 36 months, based on 3 people. With only 3 trial cases, the comparison shows little about trials in general.
Among the guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
In this district, 39% of the sentences (18) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 30% (14), and below the range without a government request were 26% (12). Above the range were 4% (2).
Across all districts, 48% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 42%.
Supervised Release, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 30 people (65%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 6 people (13%), and restitution for 8 people (17%).
In criminal history, 54% of the people were in the lowest category and 9% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Counts
From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 15 people were sentenced. From fiscal years 2020 to 2025, the number was 31. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Each year had between 1 and 8 people, so the median in the table can move sharply from year to year. The records cannot show whether any change reflects a pattern.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 2 | 3 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 6 | 20.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2019 | 6 | 25.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 3 | 11.2 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 4 | 6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3.9 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 8 | 12 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 7 | 18 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2025 | 3 | 46 months | 3 of 3 |
What Is Not in These Records
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (46). 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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, 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.