Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
All 25 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Northern District of Alabama pleaded guilty, so no one in this group was convicted after a trial. Of the 25, 16 (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months. The cases cover fiscal years 2016 to 2024.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY201 › Administration of Justice Offense: Northern District of Alabama
In brief: All 25 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Northern District of Alabama pleaded guilty, so no one in this group was convicted after a trial. Of the 25, 16 (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months. The cases cover fiscal years 2016 to 2024.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 25 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.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 25 people in this district whose offense type was "Administration of Justice." All 25 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial.
Across all 94 federal districts, 93% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, 98% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas here, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Because the data lists only people who were convicted and sentenced, it cannot show how many cases were dismissed or ended in acquittal.
Prison Terms
Of the 25 people, 16 (64%) received a prison term, and 5 (20%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 13.5 months. A quarter received 31.8 months or more, and a quarter received 6.7 months or less. Across all districts, 72% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 12 months. The share sent to prison here was lower, and the median prison term was about the same.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 46 months, which is higher than the median for this offense type.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 25 people, 12 (48%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 5 (20%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 5 (20%) were sentenced below it without a government request. A total of 3 people (12%) were sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range, which is the same share as here. For all offenses in this district, 56% were within the range.
Which Offenses Are in This Category
The Commission assigns the category by the primary guideline. The most common ones in this district were §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 9 people. §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony), §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) each applied to 4 people.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 25 people (4%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 16 people (64%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (8%), and restitution for 5 (20%).
In criminal history, 56% were in the lowest category and 8% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,557 people sentenced in this district from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 14 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 11 people.
The table gives each fiscal year with cases. Yearly counts range from 1 to 4 people, so the yearly medians, which range from 4 months to 150 months, rest on very small groups and do not show a trend.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the facts of any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 21.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 4 | 26.9 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 38 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 150 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 16.9 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 2 | 4 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (25). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, 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.