33 U.S.C. § 2020
Section 2020 · Application (Rule 20)
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Schultz v. State Farm Insurance Co. (1987)
Most recently applied in Commonwealth v. Martin (January 2010)
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.
Rules in this Part shall be complied with in all weathers.
The Rules concerning lights shall be complied with from sunset to sunrise, and during such times no other lights shall be exhibited, except such lights as cannot be mistaken for the lights specified in these Rules or do not impair their visibility or distinctive character, or interfere with the keeping of a proper lookout.
The lights prescribed by these Rules shall, if carried, also be exhibited from sunrise to sunset in restricted visibility and may be exhibited in all other circumstances when it is deemed necessary.
The Rules concerning shapes shall be complied with by day.
The lights and shapes specified in these Rules shall comply with the provisions of Annex I of these Rules.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
Rules in this Part, referred to in par. (a), mean sections 2020 to 2031 of this title.
The Rules, referred to in pars. (b) and (d), and these Rules, referred to in pars. (c) and (e), respectively, are the Inland Navigational Rules which are classified to this subchapter.
Annex I of these Rules, referred to in par. (e), is to be established by the Secretary under section 2071 of this title.
Codification
Section was enacted as part of section 2 of Pub. L. 96–591 which enacted the Inland Navigational Rules which comprise this subchapter.