§ 371. — Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States.
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 18USC371]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 19--CONSPIRACY
Sec. 371. Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United
States
If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against
the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency
thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such
persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of
the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such
conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such
misdemeanor.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 701; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII,
Sec. 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 88, 294 (Mar. 4, 1909,
ch. 321, Sec. 37, 35 Stat. 1096; Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, Sec. 178a, as
added Sept. 27, 1944, ch. 425, 58 Stat. 752).
This section consolidates said sections 88 and 294 of title 18,
U.S.C., 1940 ed.
To reflect the construction placed upon said section 88 by the
courts the words ``or any agency thereof'' were inserted. (See Haas v.
Henkel, 1909, 30 S. Ct. 249, 216 U. S. 462, 54 L. Ed. 569, 17 Ann. Cas.
1112, where court said: ``The statute is broad enough in its terms to
include any conspiracy for the purpose of impairing, obstructing, or
defeating the lawful functions of any department of government.'' Also,
see United States v. Walter, 1923, 44 S. Ct. 10, 263 U. S. 15, 68 L. Ed.
137, and definitions of department and agency in section 6 of this
title.)
The punishment provision is completely rewritten to increase the
penalty from 2 years to 5 years except where the object of the
conspiracy is a misdemeanor. If the object is a misdemeanor, the maximum
imprisonment for a conspiracy to commit that offense, under the revised
section, cannot exceed 1 year.
The injustice of permitting a felony punishment on conviction for
conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor is described by the late Hon. Grover
M. Moscowitz, United States district judge for the eastern district of
New York, in an address delivered March 14, 1944, before the section on
Federal Practice of the New York Bar Association, reported in 3 Federal
Rules Decisions, pages 380-392.
Hon. John Paul, United States district judge for the western
district of Virginia, in a letter addressed to Congressman Eugene J.
Keogh dated January 27, 1944, stresses the inadequacy of the 2-year
sentence prescribed by existing law in cases where the object of the
conspiracy is the commission of a very serious offense.
The punishment provision of said section 294 of title 18 was
considered for inclusion in this revised section. It provided the same
penalties for conspiracy to violate the provisions of certain
counterfeiting laws, as are applicable in the case of conviction for the
specific violations. Such a punishment would seem as desirable for all
conspiracies as for such offenses as counterfeiting and transporting
stolen property in interstate commerce.
A multiplicity of unnecessary enactments inevitably leads to
confusion and disregard of law. (See reviser's note under section 493 of
this title.)
Since consolidation was highly desirable and because of the strong
objections of prosecutors to the general application of the punishment
provision of said section 294, the revised section represents the best
compromise that could be devised between sharply conflicting views.
A number of special conspiracy provisions, relating to specific
offenses, which were contained in various sections incorporated in this
title, were omitted because adequately covered by this section. A few
exceptions were made, (1) where the conspiracy would constitute the only
offense, or (2) where the punishment provided in this section would not
be commensurate with the gravity of the offense. Special conspiracy
provisions were retained in sections 241, 286, 372, 757, 794, 956, 1201,
2271, 2384 and 2388 of this title. Special conspiracy provisions were
added to sections 2153 and 2154 of this title.
Amendments
1994--Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under this title'' for
``fined not more than $10,000''.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 24, 1345 of this title;
title 22 section 2778; title 26 section 6531; title 42 section 3795b;
title 50 App. section 18.
