> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers-fy2023/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:18.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:18.000Z - Description: Of the 246 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023 under §2A2.4, "Obstructing or Impeding Officers," 31 were convicted after a trial and 215 (87%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 12 months after a plea and 11.5 months after a trial. Overall, 220 people (89%) received a prison term. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) › §2A2.4: FY2023 **In brief:** Of the 246 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023 under §2A2.4, "Obstructing or Impeding Officers," 31 were convicted after a trial and 215 (87%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 12 months after a plea and 11.5 months after a trial. Overall, 220 people (89%) received a prison term. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 246 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Trials and Pleas in Fiscal Year 2023 The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 246 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 with §2A2.4 as the primary guideline. Of these, 215 (87%) pleaded guilty and 31 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 11.5 months, based on 30 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among those who pleaded guilty, 77% had a written plea agreement. The other 23% pleaded guilty without an agreement. The share who pleaded guilty was lower than the 92% for all of fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline. The table below shows that the yearly plea share ranged from 85% to 98% across all the years shown. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 179 | 12 months | 95% | | 2017 | 166 | 12 months | 97% | | 2018 | 239 | 12 months | 90% | | 2019 | 206 | 12 months | 95% | | 2020 | 185 | 12 months | 96% | | 2021 | 177 | 12 months | 98% | | 2022 | 247 | 12 months | 95% | | 2023 | 246 | 12 months | 87% | | 2024 | 248 | 10 months | 85% | | 2025 | 212 | 12 months | 89% | ## How Many Went to Prison, and for How Long A prison term went to 220 of the 246 people (89%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 17 (7%). For those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 16.5 months or more, and a quarter received 4.9 months or less. ## Sentences Within, Below, and Above the Range The Commission has range information for 245 of the 246 people. Within the guideline range: 140 (57%). Below the range at the government's request: 43 (18%). Below the range without a government request: 55 (22%). Above the range: 7 (3%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 245 people with that information recorded, which is less than 1%. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release after prison was ordered for 178 people (72%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 19 (8%). Restitution was ordered for 54 people (22%). The data does not say what the restitution orders covered. For criminal history, 61% were in the lowest category (category I) and 6% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Comparison With Adjacent Years and All Guidelines In fiscal year 2022, 247 people were sentenced under this guideline, the median prison term was 12 months, and 54% were within the range. In fiscal year 2024, 248 people were sentenced, the median was 10 months, and 61% were within the range. Across 2016 to 2025, 2,105 people were sentenced under §2A2.4, and 86% went to prison. For every guideline in fiscal year 2023, there were 64,124 people sentenced. Their median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 42% were within the range. ## What Cannot Be Read From These Figures The Commission's files count only convicted and sentenced people. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, so the data cannot show how trials ended overall. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023\. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. The records also cannot show what happened in any single case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A2.4 (246), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) (overview) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers-fy2024/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.