18 U.S.C. § 1381
Section 1381 · Enticing desertion and harboring deserters
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 13 court decisions — leading case Wolin v. Port of New York Authority (1968)
Most recently applied in United States v. Costello (January 2012)
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.
Whoever entices or procures, or attempts or endeavors to entice or procure any person in the Armed Forces of the United States, or who has been recruited for service therein, to desert therefrom, or aids any such person in deserting or in attempting to desert from such service; or
Whoever harbors, conceals, protects, or assists any such person who may have deserted from such service, knowing him to have deserted therefrom, or refuses to give up and deliver such person on the demand of any officer authorized to receive him—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §94 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §42, 35 Stat. 1097).
Mandatory punishment provisions were changed to alternative.
Words “armed forces” were substituted for repeated references to military service, naval service, soldier and seamen.
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $2,000” in last par.
Canal Zone
Applicability of section to Canal Zone, see section 14 of this title.