Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
90 people were sentenced in the "Administration of Justice" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68 of them had misprision of felony as the primary guideline. 60 (67%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.1 months, compared with 12 months across all 94 dist
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016– › Administration of Justice Offense: Middle District of Georgia
In brief: 90 people were sentenced in the "Administration of Justice" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 68 of them had misprision of felony as the primary guideline. 60 (67%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.1 months, compared with 12 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 90 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.
Misprision of Felony Was the Most Common Guideline
The Commission's "Administration of Justice" category groups offenses that interfere with the courts and law enforcement. In this district, §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) was the primary guideline for 68 of the 90 people.
Other guidelines were §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) for 8 people, §2J1.4 (Impersonation) for 5, and §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) for 4. These cases were 2% of the 4,094 people sentenced in the district.
Prison, Probation, and Prison Term Lengths
60 of the 90 people (67%) received a prison term, and 29 (32%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median term was 14.1 months. A quarter received 27.1 months or more, and a quarter received 6.8 months or less. These are imposed terms, not time served.
National and District Comparison
Nationally, 6,448 people were sentenced in this offense type. 72% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months. Guilty pleas were 93%.
The share sent to prison in this district was lower than the national share, and the median term was higher. The median for all offenses in the district was 51 months.
Pleas, Trials, and Written Agreements
85 of the 90 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12.1 months after a guilty plea and 15 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people.
Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 88 people with that information recorded.
Below the Guideline Range in Many Cases
56% of the sentences (50) were within the guideline range. 21% (19) were below the range at the government's request, and 22% (20) were below the range without a government request. 1% (1) was above the range.
Nationally, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The within-range share here was higher, but below the district's 66% for all offenses.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
54 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (2%), and restitution for 7 (8%).
48% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 10% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Counts
The district sentenced 38 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 52 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts were between 4 and 15 people. Fiscal year 2020 has no median in the table, and the other medians range from 4.9 months to 36 months. Groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 13.5 months | 6 of 9 |
| 2017 | 9 | 17.5 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 5 | 4.9 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 15 | 28 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 15 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 15 | 14 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 8 | 10 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 18 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2025 | 5 | 36 months | 4 of 5 |
What the Records Do Not Show
The Commission lists only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are absent, and the records do not describe any case. Fort Benning, Moody AFB, and Robins AFB are in this district. Military courts try courts-martial, not this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (90). 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 Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, 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.