42 U.S.C. § 97
Section 97 · State health laws observed by United States officers
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Olson v. United States (1933)
Most recently applied in Langdon v. Jaramillo (May 1969)
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.
The quarantines and other restraints established by the health laws of any State, respecting any vessels arriving in, or bound to, any port or district thereof, shall be duly observed by the officers of the customs revenue of the United States, by the masters and crews of the several Coast Guard vessels, and by the military officers commanding in any fort or station upon the seacoast; and all such officers of the United States shall faithfully aid in the execution of such quarantines and health laws, according to their respective powers and within their respective precincts, and as they shall be directed, from time to time, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. But nothing in title 58 of the Revised Statutes shall enable any State to collect a duty of tonnage or impost without the consent of Congress.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
Title 58 of the Revised Statutes, referred to in text, was in the original “this Title” meaning title 58 of the Revised Statutes, consisting of R.S. §§4792 to 4800, which were classified to sections 88 to 91, 97, and 112 to 114 of this title and section 8 of former Title 4, Flag and Seal, Seat of Government, and the States. Such section 8 of former Title 4 was repealed by act July 30, 1947, ch. 389, §2, 61 Stat. 645, and reenacted by the first section thereof as section 73 of Title 4. For complete classification of R.S. §§4792 to 4800 to the Code, see Tables.
Codification
R.S. §4792 derived from act Feb. 23, 1799, ch. 12, §1, 1 Stat. 619.
Transfer of Functions
“Coast Guard vessels” substituted in text for “revenue-cutters”, Revenue Cutter Service and Life-Saving Service having been combined to form Coast Guard by section 1 of act Jan. 28, 1915. That act was repealed by section 20 of act Aug. 4, 1949, section 1 of which reestablished the Coast Guard by enacting Title 14, Coast Guard.
Functions of Federal Security Administrator transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and all agencies of Federal Security Agency transferred to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by section 5 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953, set out as a note under section 3501 of this title. Federal Security Agency and office of Administrator abolished by section 8 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953. Secretary and Department of Health, Education, and Welfare redesignated Secretary and Department of Health and Human Services by section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96–88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.
Functions of Department of the Treasury relating to public health transferred to Federal Security Agency pursuant to Reorg. Plan No. I of 1939, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.