Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Kentucky, 90 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 43 (48%) received a prison term and 43 (48%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, the same as for this offense type in all 94 districts togethe
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In brief: In the Western District of Kentucky, 90 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 43 (48%) received a prison term and 43 (48%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, the same as for this offense type in all 94 districts together.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 90 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.
Prison and Probation in Equal Numbers
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Administration of Justice" covers 90 people in this district. Prison and probation only each applied to 43 of them.
In all districts together, 6,448 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 72% were sent to prison. The share in this district is lower, at 48%. The 90 people are 3% of the 3,229 sentenced in the district across all offense types.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 22.5 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. For all offenses in the district, the median was 57 months.
The terms are those imposed, not time served. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 90 people (1%).
Which Guidelines These Cases Used
Most of the cases, 62, used §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) as the primary guideline. The guidelines §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) and §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) each applied to 8 people. Another 3 used §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant).
The Commission groups these guidelines into one offense type, so the cases are not all the same kind of conduct. The records here show the guideline, not the facts of any case.
Guilty Pleas
Of the 90 people, 89 (99%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. The one person convicted at trial and sent to prison received 86 months, and a single case cannot show how trials compare with pleas.
Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas with no agreement. Across all offenses in the district, 97% pleaded guilty.
A Table of Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 35 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 55 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The largest year was fiscal year 2020, with 15 people, and the smallest was fiscal year 2021, with 3.
The yearly medians vary from 0.4 months to 21 months. With counts this small, a single case can change a year's median, so the table should not be read as a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 14 | 11.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 5 | 9.6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 15 | 1 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 3 | 11.4 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0.4 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 7 | 15 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2024 | 12 | 14 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 13 | 21 months | 100% |
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Within the range were 35 sentences (39%). Below the range at the government's request were 36 (40%), and below it without such a request were 18 (20%). 1 sentence (1%) was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 48% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
After prison, 41 people (46%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 19 people (21%) and restitution for 15 (17%).
On criminal history, 58% were in the lowest category and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data counts only people convicted and sentenced, and it leaves out acquittals and dismissals.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (90). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.