18 U.S.C. § 1152
Section 1152 · Laws governing
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 326 court decisions — leading case Organized Village of Kake v. Egan (1962)
Most recently applied in United States v. Hall (April 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (71 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 1153 · 18 U.S.C. § 1151 · 18 U.S.C. § 13
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.
Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the general laws of the United States as to the punishment of offenses committed in any place within the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, except the District of Columbia, shall extend to the Indian country.
This section shall not extend to offenses committed by one Indian against the person or property of another Indian, nor to any Indian committing any offense in the Indian country who has been punished by the local law of the tribe, or to any case where, by treaty stipulations, the exclusive jurisdiction over such offenses is or may be secured to the Indian tribes respectively.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on sections 215, 217, 218 of title 25, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Indians (R.S. 2144, 2145, 2146; Feb. 18, 1875, ch. 80, §§1, 18 Stat. 318).
Section consolidates said sections 217 and 218 of title 25, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Indians, and omits section 215 of said title as covered by the consolidation.
See reviser's note under section 1153 of this title as to effect of consolidation of sections 548 and 549 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.
Minor changes were made in translations and phraseology.
Cross References
State jurisdiction over offenses committed by or against Indians in the Indian country, see section 1162 of this title.