18 U.S.C. § 599
Section 599 · Promise of appointment by candidate
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case United States v. Field (1951)
Most recently applied in United States v. Blagojevich (July 2015)
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, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on sections 249, 252, of title 2, U.S.C., 1940 ed., The Congress (Feb. 28, 1925, ch. 368, title III, §§310, 314, 43 Stat. 1073, 1074).
This section consolidates the provisions of sections 249 and 252 of title 2, U.S.C., 1940 ed., The Congress, with changes in arrangement and phraseology necessary to effect consolidation.
Words “or both” were added to conform to the almost universal formula of the punishment provisions of this title.
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” after “candidacy shall be” and for “fined not more than $10,000” after “willful, shall be”.
Cross References
Minor offenses tried by United States magistrate judges as excluding offenses punishable under this section, see section 3401 of this title.