Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 26 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa for administration of justice offenses. 16 of them (62%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 11 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison a
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Administration of Justice Offense: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 26 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa for administration of justice offenses. 16 of them (62%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 11 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison and the median was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 26 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.
What Were Sentences Like Against the Guideline Range?
The records list where each sentence fell against the advisory guideline range. In this district, 38% of the 26 sentences (10 people) were within the range. Another 19% (5 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 42% (11 people) were below the range without a government request. None were above the range.
Across all 94 districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the guideline range. In this district, sentences below the range without a government request were the most common group. The count is small, so a few cases can change these percentages.
How Many Went to Prison, and for How Long?
16 of the 26 people (62%) received a prison term. 5 people (19%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The sheet does not list how the remaining 5 people were sentenced.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 11 months. A quarter received 29.2 months or more, and a quarter received 5.2 months or less. These terms are the sentences imposed, not the time actually served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 3 months | 0 of 3 |
| 2017 | 3 | 38 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 3 | n/a | 2 of 3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 10 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 4 | 10 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 4 | 7.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 16.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 4 | 36 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Guilty Pleas and Trials
21 of the 26 people (81%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, the guilty plea rate for this offense type was 93%. For every offense in the Southern District of Iowa, it was 96%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 11 months. After a trial it was 19.5 months, but that figure rests on only 2 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A median from 2 people is not a reliable basis for comparing pleas with trials.
Among the people who pleaded guilty, 67% had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Which Guidelines Applied?
Administration of justice is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for offenses that interfere with courts and investigations. The most common primary guideline was §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), with 10 people. Next were §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury) with 7, §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 6, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 2.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 26 people with that information recorded (0%).
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
13 people (50%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (15%), and restitution for 1 (4%).
In criminal history, 58% were in the lowest criminal history category I and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.
How This Compares With the Whole District
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 80 months, higher than the 11 months here. 11 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 15 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
The table shows no year with more than 4 people, so no yearly pattern can be drawn from it.
What the Records Cannot Show
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records also do not show the facts of any case or why a judge chose a particular sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (26). 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 Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, 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.