Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 46 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Western District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 35 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 7 (15%) received probation only. The median for this of
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In brief: The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 46 people sentenced for administration of justice offenses in the Western District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 35 (76%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 7 (15%) received probation only. The median for this offense type in all 94 districts was 12 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 46 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.
What This Offense Category Contains
The Commission's category called "Administration of Justice" is assigned from the primary sentencing guideline. It groups offenses that involve the court process and law enforcement officers.
In this district, the most common guidelines were §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 12 people, §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers) with 11, §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 9, and §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 7.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms and Probation
Among the 35 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 9.6 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 72% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Here the share was 76%, which is higher. The district's median for all offense types was 57 months, which is higher than the median for this offense type.
Pleas, Trials, and a Very Small Trial Group
A total of 43 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 93%, so the plea rate was the same as the all-district rate.
The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 4 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 3 people, so it cannot support a general statement about trials.
Among guilty pleas, 81% had a written plea agreement and 19% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 44 people with the information, 29 (66%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 8 (18%) were below the range without a government request, and 5 (11%) were below it at the government's request. A total of 2 (5%) were above the range.
In all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offense types in this district, 53% were within the range. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 41 people with that information.
Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 30 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 16 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts ranged from 3 to 10 people, and the table has no rows for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
The median was 10 months in fiscal year 2019 and 30 months in fiscal year 2020. With 3 to 10 people in a year, these medians should not be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 15 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 7 | 24 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2018 | 10 | 10.1 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 7 | 10 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 5 | 30 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2021 | 4 | 15.9 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 3 | 21 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 21 months | 4 of 4 |
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 32 people (70%), and the median term was 24 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 2 (4%).
In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest category (category I) and 11% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Numbers Leave Out
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not show the underlying case that led to the obstruction or failure to appear.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (46). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, 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.