18 U.S.C. § 1705
Section 1705 · Destruction of letter boxes or mail
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 23 court decisions — leading case State v. Hempele (1990)
Most recently applied in Dominique Wallace v. United States (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.
Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, 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
1948 Act
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §321 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §198, 35 Stat. 1126; May 18, 1916, ch. 126, §10, 39 Stat. 162; July 28, 1916, ch. 261, §1, 39 Stat. 418; May 7, 1934, ch. 220, §1, 48 Stat. 667).
Words “or shall willfully take or steal such mail from or out of such letter box or other receptacle” were omitted as covered by section 1702 of this title. Prosecutions for theft of mail matter are invariably made under that section whereas this section is used as basis for prosecutions for malicious mischief to mail boxes or receptacles. By Postal Regulations (1928), section 700, paragraph 2, an ordinary letter box is within this section and also section 1702 of this title. Huebner v. United States (C.C.A. 1928, 28 F. 2d 929).
Reference to persons assisting or aiding was omitted. Such persons are principals under definitive section 2 of this title.
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
1949 Act
As amended by this section [section 38] of the bill, section 1705 of title 18, U.S.C., is brought more closely into conformity with the original statute from which it was derived by eliminating an inadvertent reference to a “conveyance” which was not in the original statute. (See S. Rept. No. 133, 81st Cong.)
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–273 inserted “, or both” after “years”.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000”.
1949—Act May 24, 1949, struck out reference to a “conveyance” which was not in original statute.