50 U.S.C. § 217
Section 217 · Trading in captured or abandoned property
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.
All persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from buying or selling, trading, or in any way dealing in captured or abandoned property, whereby they shall receive or expect any profit, benefit, or advantage to themselves, or any other person, directly or indirectly connected with them; and it shall be the duty of such person whenever such property comes into his possession or custody, or within his control, to give notice thereof to some agent, appointed by virtue of this chapter, and to turn the same over to such agent without delay. Any officer of the United States, civil, military, or naval, or any sutler, soldier, or marine, or other person who shall violate any provision of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not more than $5,000, and imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than three years. Violations of this section shall be cognizable before any court, civil or military, competent to try the same.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
R.S. §5313 derived from act July 2, 1864, ch. 225, §10, 13 Stat. 377.
Cross References
Dealing in captured or abandoned property to be punishable as a court-martial may direct, see section 903 of Title 10, Armed Forces.