28 U.S.C. § 518
Section 518 · Conduct and argument of cases
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 27 court decisions — leading case United States v. Providence Journal Co. (1988)
Most recently applied in Rudisill v. McDonough (December 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.
(a) Except when the Attorney General in a particular case directs otherwise, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General shall conduct and argue suits and appeals in the Supreme Court and suits in the United States Court of Federal Claims or in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and in the Court of International Trade in which the United States is interested.
(b) When the Attorney General considers it in the interests of the United States, he may personally conduct and argue any case in a court of the United States in which the United States is interested, or he may direct the Solicitor General or any officer of the Department of Justice to do so.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The words “and writs of error” are omitted on authority of the Act of Jan. 31, 1928, ch. 14, §1, 45 Stat. 54. The word “considers” is substituted for “deems”.
Amendments
1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–572 substituted “United States Court of Federal Claims” for “United States Claims Court”.
1982—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–164 substituted “United States Claims Court or in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit” for “Court of Claims”.
1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–417 required the Attorney General and the Solicitor General to conduct and argue suits in the Court of International Trade.
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.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 96–417 effective Nov. 1, 1980, and applicable with respect to civil actions pending on or commenced on or after such date, see section 701(a) of Pub. L. 96–417, set out as a note under section 251 of this title.