Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
50 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 37 (74%) received a prison term, with a median of 13 months. 28 of the 50 had §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) as the primary guideline.
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In brief: 50 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 37 (74%) received a prison term, with a median of 13 months. 28 of the 50 had §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) as the primary guideline.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 50 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 Is the Main Guideline
"Administration of Justice" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type. In this district, the primary guideline was §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) for 28 people.
§2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) applied to 9, and §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) applied to 7. §2J1.3 (Perjury or Subornation of Perjury) applied to 1.
These cases were 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district.
Prison, Probation, and Median Terms
37 of the 50 people (74%) received a prison term, and 8 (16%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 72% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 13 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 9 months or less. The median for all districts was 12 months.
Fines Were Common
A fine was ordered for 37 of the 50 people (74%). Restitution was ordered for 7 (14%).
36 people (72%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
63% of the 49 people with this information (31) were sentenced within the guideline range. The figure for all districts was 48%, and for every offense type in this district it was 69%.
29% (14) were below the range without a government request, and 6% (3) were below it at the government's request. 2% (1) were above it. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 50.
Pleas
49 of the 50 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. For all districts the rate was 93%.
The median prison term was 12.5 months after a guilty plea. The 1 trial conviction had a term of 78 months, and one person cannot be compared with the group. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
On criminal history, 69% were in category I, the lowest, and 4% were in category VI, the highest.
Counts Across Fiscal Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 29 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 21. The year 2016 has 11 people, the most in any year. The year 2024 has 1, with no median listed.
Yearly medians range from 5.7 months in 2020 to 18 months in 2025. These counts are small and do not show a trend. A fiscal year ends each September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 8 | 15.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 6 | 15 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 3 | 5.7 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 5 | 16.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 2 | 6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 7 | 17.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
Gaps in the Records
The Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are left out, and the prison terms are imposed terms, not time served.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (50). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.