Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of Texas sentenced 328 people for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 12 months, the same as the national median for this offense type. Most cases, 237, used the guideline for obstructing or impeding officers.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Administration of Justice Offense: Southern District of Texas
In brief: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 328 people for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 12 months, the same as the national median for this offense type. Most cases, 237, used the guideline for obstructing or impeding officers.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 328 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.
The Same Median as the Nation
Of the 328 people, 303 (92%) received a prison term, and 18 (5%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 7.3 months or less.
Across all 94 federal districts, 6,448 people were sentenced in this offense type, 72% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months. The median here was the same, but the share sent to prison was higher in this district. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 25 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 28 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 37 | 12.1 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 44 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 27 | 14.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 29 | 13 months | 90% |
| 2022 | 43 | 12 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 30 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 36 | 10 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 29 | 12 months | 97% |
What This Category Covers
Administration of Justice is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. It groups offenses that involve interference with officers or courts. The most common primary guideline was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 237 people.
Smaller groups used §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 31, §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 20, and §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 18. These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district.
No Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 321 people with that information recorded (0%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 210 people (64%), with a median term of 30 months.
A fine was ordered for 8 people (2%) and restitution for 18 (5%).
Pleas and Trials
A total of 315 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 13 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas here, 57% had a written plea agreement and 42% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial, it was 15 months, based on 13 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The trial group is small, and the records do not show how its cases differed.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Of 327 people with this information, 67% (220) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 8% (25), and below it without a government request were 20% (67). Above the range were 5% (15).
Nationally, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 58%.
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 134 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 194. Yearly medians in the table stay between 10 months and 14.5 months.
Limits of the Records
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records also do not show what each person did to obstruct or fail to appear.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (328). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.