18 U.S.C. § 1652
Section 1652 · Citizens as pirates
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case United States v. Denson (1979)
Most recently applied in 3 F. Supp. 3d 515 - United States v. Said (February 2014)
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 citizen of the United States, commits any murder or robbery, or any act of hostility against the United States, or against any citizen thereof, on the high seas, under color of any commission from any foreign prince, or state, or on pretense of authority from any person, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §495 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §304, 35 Stat. 1147).
Words “Notwithstanding the pretense of such authority,” were omitted as surplusage.
Cross References
Wire or oral communications, authorization for interception, to provide evidence of murder or robbery, see section 2516 of this title.