Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 20 people in the Northern District of West Virginia were sentenced for administration of justice offenses. Of those, 15 (75%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. The median across all 94 federal districts was 12 months.
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 20 people in the Northern District of West Virginia were sentenced for administration of justice offenses. Of those, 15 (75%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. The median across all 94 federal districts was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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.
A Small Group With Obstruction and Perjury Guidelines
The Sentencing Commission's "Administration of Justice" category covers offenses such as obstruction, perjury, and failure to appear. The category is assigned from the primary guideline applied at sentencing.
In this district, the most common guideline was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 8 cases. Next were §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 4 cases, §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury) with 3 cases, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 3 cases.
These 20 cases were less than 1% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Prison Terms
Of the 20 people, 15 (75%) received a prison term, and 4 (20%) received probation only. Across all districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, so the shares are about the same.
Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 13.5 months or less. The national median of 12 months is lower than the median in this district. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 20 people.
Guideline Range Positions
9 people (45%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 8 (40%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 2 (10%) were sentenced below it without a government request. One person (5%) was sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. That is about the same as the 45% here. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 57%.
Pleas and Trials
Of the 20 people, 18 (90%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. The trial figure of 78 months comes from 1 person who was sent to prison, so it is a single case and not a basis for comparison.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 7 people (35%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (5%), and restitution for 1 (5%).
In the criminal history records, 30% of people were in the lowest category, category I, and 25% were in the highest, category VI. The records do not say what this spread means for sentencing.
Fiscal Year Counts
The district sentenced 5 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 15 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly counts are 1 to 5 people, so the table does not show a trend.
The medians in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, 51 months and 66 months, are higher than most earlier years. Both rest on 5 and 3 people, and the records cannot show whether the change is lasting.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 10 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | 6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 22.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 51 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 66 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not describe the underlying cases, so they cannot show what conduct led to any obstruction or perjury sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (20). 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 Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, 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.