Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
11 people were sentenced in the Western District of Arkansas for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 8 (73%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months. All 11 pleaded guilty, and 73% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY201 › Administration of Justice Offense: Western District of Arkansas
In brief: 11 people were sentenced in the Western District of Arkansas for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 8 (73%) received a prison term, with a median of 13.5 months. All 11 pleaded guilty, and 73% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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 Short Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Administration of Justice" category covers offenses such as obstruction. In this district, 11 people were counted in it.
8 of them (73%) received a prison term, and 1 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13.5 months. A quarter received 17.2 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 72% of people in this offense type went to prison, and the median was 12 months. Both figures are about the same as those here.
Guidelines Used
The primary guidelines were spread across several offenses. §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice), §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony), and §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) each applied to 3 people. §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) applied to 1 person.
Administration of justice made up less than 1% of the district's 2,185 sentenced people over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 72 months.
Within-Range Sentences
The sentence was within the guideline range for 8 people (73%). It was below the range at the government's request for 2 people (18%), and below the range without a government request for 1 person (9%). No sentence was above the range.
Within-range sentences were 48% for this offense type across all districts, which is lower than the 73% here. The rate for all offenses in this district was 43%.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 11 people.
Pleas
Every one of the 11 people (100%) pleaded guilty, with a written plea agreement in each case, and there were no trial convictions. The all-district guilty plea rate was 93%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
After prison, 7 people (64%) had supervised release ordered, and the median length was 12 months. Fines went to 4 people (36%), and 2 people (18%) were ordered to pay restitution.
On criminal history, 55% fell in category I, the lowest, and 0% fell in category VI, the highest. Court-martial files do not record a criminal history category, so no military comparison is possible.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 4 people, and 2020 to 2025 account for 7. The table has rows only for 2016, 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The most in any year was 4 people. When a year has 1 person, the median is that person's own sentence, and the table cannot be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 17 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of These Numbers
Anyone who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed does not appear in this data, and the prison terms shown were imposed by the court rather than served.
Because the group has 11 people, each person moves a percentage by several points.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (11). 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, 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.