Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
The Eastern District of Wisconsin sentenced 42 people for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 30 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 7 months, compared with 12 months across all 94 federal districts. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial.
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In brief: The Eastern District of Wisconsin sentenced 42 people for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 30 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 7 months, compared with 12 months across all 94 federal districts. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 42 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.
The Offenses in This Category
"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes that interfere with courts and law enforcement. The most common primary guideline was §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony), with 17 people. Next were §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 11, §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 4, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 3.
These cases were 1% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
Prison, Probation, and Median Terms
A total of 30 of the 42 people (71%) received a prison term, and 11 (26%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 72% were sent to prison, about the same share as here.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 7 months. A quarter received 20.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The all-districts median was 12 months. For all offenses in this district it was 48 months.
The terms are those imposed by the court, not time served.
Guideline Range Placement
Sentences within the guideline range were 26% (11 people). Below the range at the government's request were also 26% (11), and below the range without a government request were 36% (15). Above the range were 12% (5).
In all districts together, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The figure for all offenses in this district was 17%.
Pleas and the Single Trial
A total of 41 of 42 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 8 months. The one person convicted at trial received 1.5 months. A single case cannot be compared with the pleas in any general way.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervision, and Criminal History
No one had a mandatory minimum: 0 of the 41 people with that information recorded. Supervised release was ordered for 19 people (45%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and restitution for 4 (10%).
The federal data records criminal history. Of these people, 62% were in category I, the lowest, and 5% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 17 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 25 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
No year had more than 7 people, and the last year listed had 1. The table's medians range from 0 months to 82.5 months. These are very small groups, and the table is not evidence of a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 5 | 12 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2020 | 7 | 4 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 5 | 48 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 82.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (42). 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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 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.