10 U.S.C. § 888
Section 888 · Art. 88. Contempt toward officials
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 14 court decisions — leading case Ethredge v. Hail (1995)
Most recently applied in Steven Larrabee v. Carlos Del Toro (August 2022)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The word “commissioned” is inserted for clarity. The words “the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession” are substituted for the words “Vice President, Congress, Secretary of Defense, or a Secretary of a Department, a Governor or a legislature of any State, Territory, or other possession of the United States”.
Amendments
2006—Pub. L. 109–163 struck out “Territory,” after “State,”.
2002—Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “Secretary of Homeland Security” for “Secretary of Transportation”.
1980—Pub. L. 96–513 substituted “Secretary of Transportation” for “Secretary of the Treasury”.
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701(b)(3) of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.