28 U.S.C. § 2513
Section 2513 · Unjust conviction and imprisonment
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 142 court decisions — leading case Betts v. United States (1993)
Most recently applied in United States v. Joseph Johnson, Jr. (August 2024)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 28 U.S.C. § 1495 · 28 U.S.C. § 1491 · 42 U.S.C. § 1983
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.
(a) Any person suing under section 1495 of this title must allege and prove that:
(1) His conviction has been reversed or set aside on the ground that he is not guilty of the offense of which he was convicted, or on new trial or rehearing he was found not guilty of such offense, as appears from the record or certificate of the court setting aside or reversing such conviction, or that he has been pardoned upon the stated ground of innocence and unjust conviction and
(2) He did not commit any of the acts charged or his acts, deeds, or omissions in connection with such charge constituted no offense against the United States, or any State, Territory or the District of Columbia, and he did not by misconduct or neglect cause or bring about his own prosecution.
(b) Proof of the requisite facts shall be by a certificate of the court or pardon wherein such facts are alleged to appear, and other evidence thereof shall not be received.
(c) No pardon or certified copy of a pardon shall be considered by the United States Court of Federal Claims unless it contains recitals that the pardon was granted after applicant had exhausted all recourse to the courts and that the time for any court to exercise its jurisdiction had expired.
(d) The Court may permit the plaintiff to prosecute such action in forma pauperis.
(e) The amount of damages awarded shall not exceed $100,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration for any plaintiff who was unjustly sentenced to death and $50,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration for any other plaintiff.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on sections 729–732 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Crimes and Criminal Procedure (May 24, 1938, ch. 266, §§1–4, 52 Stat. 438.)
Sections 729–732 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., were consolidated and completely rewritten in order to clarify ambiguities which made the statute unworkable as enacted originally. Jurisdictional provisions of section 729 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., are incorporated in section 1495 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology.
Amendments
2004—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 108–405 substituted “exceed $100,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration for any plaintiff who was unjustly sentenced to death and $50,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration for any other plaintiff” for “exceed the sum of $5,000”.
1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–572 substituted “United States Court of Federal Claims” for “United States Claims Court”.
1982—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–164 substituted “United States Claims Court” for “Court of Claims”.
1954—Subsec. (c). Act Sept. 3, 1954, substituted “considered by” for “filed with”.
Effective Date of 1992 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 102–572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 911 of Pub. L. 102–572, set out as a note under section 171 of this title.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402 of Pub. L. 97–164, set out as a note under section 171 of this title.