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# Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-administration-of-justice-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:03:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:03:03.000Z
- Description: 62 people were sentenced in the Northern District of Georgia for administration of justice offenses, such as obstruction and failure to appear, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 43 (69%) received a prison term, and 14 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 14 months, compared with 12
- 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) › Administration of Justice Offense: Northern District of Georgia

**In brief:** 62 people were sentenced in the Northern District of Georgia for administration of justice offenses, such as obstruction and failure to appear, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 43 (69%) received a prison term, and 14 (23%) received probation only. The median prison term was 14 months, compared with 12 months for this offense type across 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 62 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/).

## Offenses That Affect the Court Process

"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes that interfere with courts and investigations. The most common primary guideline was §2X4.1, Misprision of Felony, with 19 people.

Next were §2J1.2, Obstruction of Justice, with 15; §2A2.4, Obstructing or Impeding Officers, with 11; and §2J1.6, Failure to Appear by Defendant, with 7.

These cases were 1% of the 5,362 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 29 were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 33 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.

## Prison, Probation, and Prison Length

43 of the 62 people (69%) received a prison term, and 14 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 72% were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 14 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The all-district median was 12 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 41 months, which is higher than the median here.

## Almost All Pleaded Guilty

61 of the 62 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 96%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 13.5 months. After a trial it was 18.1 months, based on 1 person, so it is not a basis for comparison.

Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 61 people with that information recorded.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

60 people had a guideline range recorded. 32% (19) were sentenced within the range. 45% (27) were below it at the government's request, and 18% (11) were below it without a government request. 5% (3) were above it.

Across all districts, 48% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The share within the range was lower in this district. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 32%, the same as here.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

37 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (6%), and restitution for 9 (15%).

53% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Year by Year

Each fiscal year had between 5 and 8 people. The median prison term was 7.8 months in fiscal year 2016, 24 months in fiscal year 2023, and 16 months in fiscal year 2025.

Counts this small do not show a trend. Guilty pleas covered all or all but 1 of the people in every year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 8                | 7.8 months    | 8 of 8         |
| 2017        | 8                | 15.5 months   | 8 of 8         |
| 2018        | 8                | 18 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2019        | 5                | 19.5 months   | 5 of 5         |
| 2020        | 5                | 5 months      | 5 of 5         |
| 2021        | 6                | 15.1 months   | 5 of 6         |
| 2022        | 5                | 19 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2023        | 6                | 24 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2024        | 5                | 10.5 months   | 5 of 5         |
| 2025        | 6                | 16 months     | 6 of 6         |

## Limits of the Data

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

The guideline names show the type of offense, but not the case facts, so the records cannot explain why 14 people received probation only.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (62). 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (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.