Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
Of the 30 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 (43%) received a prison term and 15 (50%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 12 months in all 94 federal districts. Mispri
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY20 › Administration of Justice Offense: Western District of Louisiana
In brief: Of the 30 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 13 (43%) received a prison term and 15 (50%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 12 months in all 94 federal districts. Misprision of felony was the primary guideline for 23 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 30 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 or Probation?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 30 people in this district whose offense type was Administration of Justice. Of these, 13 (43%) received a prison term, and 15 (50%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The sheet does not report the sentence type for the other 2 people.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less.
Across all districts, 6,448 people were sentenced for this offense type, and 72% were sent to prison. The median prison term was 12 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months.
Which Guidelines Were Used
The category is the Commission's and is assigned from the primary guideline. §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) was the primary guideline for 23 people. §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) and §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) were each the primary guideline for 2. §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) applied to 1.
Administration of Justice cases were less than 1% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in the period.
Guilty Pleas
All 30 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty for this offense type. For all offenses in this district, the share was 96%.
Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Within the Range, Below It, and Above It
Of the 29 people with guideline information, 16 (55%) were sentenced within the range. Another 6 (21%) were below the range without a government request, and 4 (14%) were below it at the government's request. 3 people (10%) were above the range.
In all districts, 48% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The share in this district was higher. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 29 people with that information recorded (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 12 people (40%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (13%), and restitution for 6 (20%).
In criminal history, 66% were in the lowest category (category I), and 7% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 13 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 17. Each year has between 1 and 5 people, so the table does not show a trend. Where the table shows n/a, too few people were sent to prison for a median.
A fiscal year starts on October 1.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 28.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 3 | 11 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 10 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 4 | 19.5 months | 4 of 4 |
Installations and What Is Missing
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the underlying events.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (30). 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 Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.