Federal Administration of Justice Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Washington, 32 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 27 (84%) received a prison term, but the median prison term was only 1.8 months. After a trial, the median was 0.3 months, based on 3 people.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Administration of Justice Offense: Western District of Washington
In brief: In the Western District of Washington, 32 people were sentenced for administration of justice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 27 (84%) received a prison term, but the median prison term was only 1.8 months. After a trial, the median was 0.3 months, based on 3 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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 Terms Were Short
The Sentencing Commission's "Administration of Justice" offense type covers 32 people in this district. 27 (84%) received a prison term, and 3 (9%) received probation only.
The median prison term was 1.8 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. The spread is wide for a small group. These are terms imposed, not time served.
National Comparison
Nationally, 6,448 people fall in this offense type. 72% went to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months. This district sent a higher share to prison, and its median was lower.
Guilty pleas were 93% nationally and 91% here. These cases were less than 1% of the 3,992 people sentenced in the district. The median for every offense type in the district together was 30 months.
Trial Sentences Were Not Longer Here
29 people pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a plea was 3.9 months. After a trial it was 0.3 months.
That is the reverse of the usual order in other offense types. The trial group has only 3 people, so the difference may only reflect those cases. Among the pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
11 people (34%) were within the guideline range. 10 (31%) were below it at the government's request, and 9 (28%) were below it without a request. 2 (6%) were above it.
Nationally, 48% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it is 35%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 32 people.
Primary Guidelines
The most common was §2A2.4 (Obstructing or Impeding Officers), with 9 people, then §2J1.2 (Obstruction of Justice) with 7, §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant) with 6, and §2X4.1 (Misprision of Felony) with 2.
The offense type is the Commission's own category. It combines cases that obstruct or interfere with the courts and law enforcement.
Supervision, Money Orders, and Criminal History
14 people (44%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (6%), and restitution for 6 (19%).
47% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 14. Yearly counts run from 2 to 8, so one case can move a yearly median. The table shows no trend.
Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are in this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the federal data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 0.3 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2017 | 3 | 1.8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 5 | 1 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 2 | 10.1 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 9 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | 9 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 months | 3 of 3 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Administration of Justice" (32). 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 Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.