7 U.S.C. § 221
Section 221 · Accounts and records of business; punishment for failure to keep
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case Shapiro v. United States (1948)
Most recently applied in Syverson v. United States Department of Agriculture (January 2012)
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.
Every packer, any swine contractor, and any live poultry dealer, stockyard owner, market agency, and dealer shall keep such accounts, records, and memoranda as fully and correctly disclose all transactions involved in his business, including the true ownership of such business by stockholding or otherwise. Whenever the Secretary finds that the accounts, records, and memoranda of any such person do not fully and correctly disclose all transactions involved in his business, the Secretary may prescribe the manner and form in which such accounts, records, and memoranda shall be kept, and thereafter any such person who fails to keep such accounts, records, and memoranda in the manner and form prescribed or approved by the Secretary shall upon conviction be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–171 inserted “any swine contractor, and” after “packer,”.
1987—Pub. L. 100–173 substituted “, any live poultry dealer,” for “or any live poultry dealer or handler,”.
1935—Act Aug. 15, 1921, title V, §503, as added Aug. 14, 1935, inserted “or any live poultry dealer or handler” after “packer” wherever appearing.
Effective Date of 1987 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–173 effective 90 days after Nov. 23, 1987, see section 12 of Pub. L. 100–173, set out as a note under section 182 of this title.
Liens or Security Interests Against Livestock; Interagency Task Force To Recommend Method of Providing Information to Purchasers; Report to Congress
Pub. L. 95–409, §2, Oct. 2, 1978, 92 Stat. 887, required the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint a task force to recommend methods of providing information to purchasers of livestock concerning the existence of a lien or security interest against livestock and to submit a report to Congress not later than Feb. 1, 1979.