Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 34 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia for administration of justice offenses. 18 (53%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 72% were sent to prison and the median was 12 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY201 › Administration of Justice Offense: Southern District of Georgia
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 34 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia for administration of justice offenses. 18 (53%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 72% were sent to prison and the median was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 34 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
"Administration of Justice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary sentencing guideline. In this district, §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) was the most common, with 18 people.
The others were §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), with 10 people; §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 3; and §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury), with 1.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Compared With Probation
Of the 34 people, 18 (53%) received a prison term and 14 (41%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 18 months. A quarter received 23.7 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. For all districts, the median was 12 months, and for all offenses in this district it was 48 months.
The terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 8 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 17.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 5 | 22.6 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2020 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 28.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 7 | 42 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 18.1 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2024 | 8 | 16 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2025 | 2 | 19.4 months | 2 of 2 |
Guilty Pleas and Trials
30 of the 34 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 16 months. After a trial it was 33 months, based on 4 people. That is a small group, and the records do not show how the cases differed.
Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 47% of the cases (16 people). Below the range at the government's request were 29% (10 people), and below the range without a government request were 24% (8 people). None was above the range.
For this offense type across all districts, 48% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 71%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 33 people with that information recorded (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 17 people (50%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 14 people (41%), and restitution for 2 (6%).
In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category I and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Most of the Cases Came After 2019
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 25. The largest single year is 2024, with 8 people, followed by 2022, with 7.
Yearly counts of 1 to 8 people do not support a trend. The medians shown for 2016 and 2020 each rest on 1 person.
Limits of the Data
The totals leave out acquittals and dismissals, because only sentenced people are recorded. The records also give no account of the conduct behind any case.
The district includes Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart. Military courts, not this federal court, hear courts-martial.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (34). 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 Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern 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.