§ 501. — General penalty.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 47USC501]
TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
SUBCHAPTER V--PENAL PROVISIONS; FORFEITURES
Sec. 501. General penalty
Any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to
be done any act, matter, or thing, in this chapter prohibited or
declared to be unlawful, or who willfully and knowingly omits or fails
to do any act, matter, or thing in this chapter required to be done, or
willfully and knowingly causes or suffers such omission or failure,
shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished for such offense, for which
no penalty (other than a forfeiture) is provided in this chapter, by a
fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, or both; except that any person, having been once
convicted of an offense punishable under this section, who is
subsequently convicted of violating any provision of this chapter
punishable under this section, shall be punished by a fine of not more
than $10,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or
both.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title V, Sec. 501, 48 Stat. 1100; Mar. 23,
1954, ch. 104, 68 Stat. 30.)
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ``this Act'',
meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, as amended, known as
the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this
chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
section 609 of this title and Tables.
Amendments
1954--Act Mar. 23, 1954, provided that any offense punishable
hereunder, except a second or subsequent offense, should constitute a
misdemeanor rather than a felony, as those terms are defined in section
1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
